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KATIIABINE AT EIGHTEEN 



LITTLE JOURNEYS 



OF 



KATHARINE 



Being the History of Various Trips taken 

BY Katharine Jane Black at the ages 

OF Four, Nine and Fourteen, 



written by her Father, 
DAVID POLLOCK BLACK, 



MADE INTO A BOOK AND PRESENTED TO KATHARINE 

ON HER Nineteenth Birthday. 






GS 



Copyrighted 1914 

D. P. BLACK 
Pittsburgh, Pa, 



DEC 1 1 i9l4 

©GI,A387903 



TO 

KATHARINE JANE BLACK 

THIS BOOK 

IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED 

BY 

Her Father, the Author. 



KATHARINE IN THE GOLDEN WEST. 




CHAPTER I. 

N or about February ist, 1900, the Black 
family, consisting of the "Kid" and the 
"Old Folks", started for a trip to the 
State of the Setting Sun on the shores of the Great 
Pacific. The little party did not travel alone on 
this trip but joined the special train of a personal- 
ly conducted tour in which the "Paterfamilias" 
was not the Conductor as was generally the case in 
these Little Journeys, he being relegated to a sub- 
ordinate position of sub-deputy, or man of all 
work, whose duty it was to furnish general infor- 
mation. 

This position was assigned him for the reason 
that he had never been over the route and, of 
course, knew nothing whatever about it. All he 
had to do was to keep the rest in ignorance of this 
fact, a feat not so hard as all were new, and as 
long as no question was asked that he did not 
know, all was well and his knowledge un- 
questioned. 



6 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

Besides the Black family, a number of other 
Pittsburghers were on the train: Dr. B. and his 
daughter, the two Miss M's., Mrs. K., Mr. W. and 
his family, and then there was Birdie and her 
mother. God bless you! we could never have 
gotten along without them, for was not Birdie the 
life of the whole party and her mother and Mrs. 
K. the mothers and chaperons of the rest of the 
bunch. Yes, and there was Mrs. J. and her then 
little son and daughter, and Miss D. and B. and 
good old Aunt Eliza. 

The journey was started over the B. & O. 
through Washington, Pa., and Wheeling to Cin- 
cinnati. At Wheeling, our good friend, Mrs. L., 
came on the train to bid us goodbye and wish us 
Godspeed. At Cincinnati, the Pittsburgh car was 
attached to the Special and headed toward the 
Sunny South, making the first stop at Chattanooga 
where one day was spent visiting Chickamauga, 
Lookout Mountain and other points of interest. 

The Black family had been over this historic 
ground before but of course the Kid had to be 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 7 

shown. The next stop was at Birmingham, but 
only for an hour or two, just long enough to see 
the Little Pittsburgh of the South, as the people 
like to call it. From Birmingham, the train still 
sped southwardly until New Orleans (the Cres- 
cent City) was reached. Here two or three days 
were to be spent and, as the ladies wished to look 
pretty, a rush was made for the baggage, when 
lo and behold! two of the young ladies discovered 
that the checks they held were only the local ex- 
press checks given at the house to be delivered up 
at the depot when the baggage was checked 
farther. 

What dismay when they began to realize 
that their trunks were quietly reposing at the de- 
pot at Pittsburgh while they were a thousand 
miles from home without a change of clothes. 
For men it would not have mattered much, but 
for two young ladies to whom all looked to give 
the party tone and respectability. What was to 
be done? Nothing could be done but to tele- 
graph for the trunks to be sent on, but to where? 



8 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

The stay in New Orleans would not be long 
enough to allow them to overtake the party and 
as no stop of any consequence short of Los Angeles 
was to be made, that must be the point to have 
them shipped, and a still further trip of two thou- 
sand miles to be added to their journey before the 
baggage could be obtained. 

All felt sorry for the young ladies and all 
sorts of suggestions and advice were freely given. 
Some said as the trip would be largely through 
the plains and the Indian country, the costumes 
of the squaws might be purchased, and as they 
never change clothing or wash, the trip could be 
made nicely. 

New Orleans is said to be a very interesting 
city but to most of the party it was somewhat of 
a disappointment. The "St. Charles", our hotel, 
was good, and the city itself is so unlike other 
American cities that this alone created an interest, 
but the French Market, of which all had heard 
and wanted to see, was so dirty and the huckster 
women so filthy that all romance and sentiment 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 9 

has departed from that attraction in the minds of 
the whole party. The Cemetery with the graves 
above ground was odd but uncanny, and especial- 
ly when one looks around and sees the lizards 
running around and through the graves. The 
party was a pretty healthy lot but they were 
ready to continue their journey lest they, too, 
might die and be buried there. 

Having completed their visit, all were ready 
to continue their meanderings westward, so the 
Father of Waters was crossed on a ferry boat and 
the train boarded at Algiers. With the engine 
headed for the Setting Sun, we are off for our 
long ride over the rice swamps of Louisiana, the 
one hundred eighty counties of Texas which we 
must cross, consisting of almost all kinds of 
country, the eastern part fertile and well culti- 
vated ; then to the vast grazing country and even 
to considerable elevation on the mountains and 
then across a vast expanse of arid plains. 

Our first stop was San Antonio, the largest 
city in Texas, although at that time it had less 



lo Little Journeys of Katharine. 

than one hundred thousand inhabitants. Of 
course, we had to see the Alamo. To most of 
the readers of this little narrative, it is not neces- 
sary to explain that the Alamo is not a breakfast 
food but just an old church, in which a brave lit- 
tle band of Texans held out for days against the 
cruel and treacherous Mexican forces of Santa 
Anna, were promised amnesty if they would sur- 
render but who, immediately upon laying down 
their arms, were cruelly murdered. So the battle 
cry of the Texans thereafter was "Remember the 
Alamo", which they did to the great sorrow of 
the Mexicans later. The barracks of the United 
States regular soldiers here were visited with a 
great deal of interest. It was also hinted that 
several of the male members of the party called 
at the Antler's saloon but, of course, only to drink 
a bottle of pop and see the fine display of heads. 

After leaving San Antonio, our broker 
friend, Mr. W., broke the news to the party that 
he was going to have a little celebration of his 
own as that was his forty-nmth birthday. This 




EN ROUTE 



Little Journeys of Katharine. i i 

announcement threw the whole party into an up- 
roar, not because he was having a birthday, but 
because he had not told us before leaving San 
Antonio, one of the best places in all Texas to 
celebrate such an event. Here we were on a dry 
train, in a dry state, and the next stop El Paso, 
twenty-four hours ahead. All agreed that some 
punishment should be meted out to him for this 
offence. Some suggested ducking but where in 
this part of Texas could you find enough water 
to duck a fat man like him. Someone suggested 
that the people of this train were a law unto them- 
selves, and as they were the only sufferers by the 
culprit's offence, they should make and execute 
the law as they saw fit. It was said as this train 
was headed for California, the people on board 
were virtually Californians, and as the offending 
party was this day forty-nine years old, he conse- 
quently became a "Forty-niner". All Forty- 
niners know that the only law which the people 
feared and respected was that made and executed 
by the Vigilance Committee, and forthwith a 



12 Little Journeys OF Katharine. 

Vigilance Committee was formed composed of 
both men and women. 

The men thought that shooting or hanging 
would be about the proper thing but this was a 
peaceful train and no firearms could be found, 
while the only rope available was the bell rope 
which the conductor refused to give up, saying it 
might soil it. Some were afraid the sinner 
would have to go free but the ladies had not been 
heard from yet, and as one remarked she had been 
reading about the early Christians being thrown 
to wild beasts, it suggested a thought to her. At 
the last stop, some of the ladies tried to buy some 
cakes but could get nothing in this line except 
ginger cakes cut in the shapes of all kinds of ani- 
mals. These they also found to be very dry and 
hard, nevertheless a large bag full was purchased. 
If the offending party were compelled to eat this 
entire bag of animals, would not he be about as 
dry as the rest of the party and would not justice 
be satisfied. 

This appeared to meet the approval of all 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 13 

the Committee so the arrest was made, trial con- 
ducted, sentence pronounced and executed with 
the same neatness and dispatch as though it had 
happened fifty years ago on the shores of the 
Great Pacific. But here we are telling long 
stories and not halfway across Texas yet. As a 
boy, snakes, bugs and long stories seemed to be 
the worst three things a boy had to contend with 
so we will not inflict them on our friends. 

El Paso at last! Whew, what a big state 
Texas is, but here we are at the Western extremi- 
ty with Mexico just across the river. And what 
river? The Rio Grande, of course, which means 
Grand River. But where is the water? Up 
north, our rivers all have water in them while 
they tell us here that this river has either too much 
water or none at all. The Mexicans call it Rio 
Bravo. They must have named it in the rainy 
season. 

A few hours stop is made at El Paso and of 
course we must go over to Juarez (pronounced 
Wars). As there was no bull fight on that day, 



14 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

the next best thing we could do was to go to the 
Cathedral and other points of interest which, 
however, are not many but we are enabled to say 
we have been in Mexico. 

We had a very obliging conductor on the 
train and if anyone expressed an interest in this 
or that along the line, he would say: "Would 
you like to see it? If so, we will stop." Many 
little adobe houses were passed, occupied mostly 
by Mexicans. At one of these, a request was 
made to be permitted to see the way these people 
lived. The train was promptly stopped and the 
conductor, who could speak Spanish, accom- 
panied us and showed us through the house, 
where we saw a family of eight all living in one 
room. Children here ten and twelve years old 
had never tasted food of any kind excepting milk 
when babes and beans afterwards. 

After leaving El Paso, the next stop was 
Tucson, Arizona, where we inspected an Indian 
school. Some of the star pupils were put 
through a few stunts to show us how proficient 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 15 

thev were in the Scriptures. The Lord's Pra^-er, 
the Creed and a few chapters of the Old and New 
Testament were rattled oft with more or less un- 
derstanding but when they tackled the Shorter 
Catechism, a vacant stare was visible on their 
stolid countenances, which led us to believe that 
the children of the forest have the same trouble 
in mastering same that their palefaced brothers 
have. 

Our next stop is Yuma, said to be the hottest 

place this side of the River St}^, but as it is 
nearly dark and in February, we are able to stand 
it during our short stay. However, one hot night 
is yet before us as we cross the Salton Sea, which 
is not a sea, by the way, but a plain considerably 
below sea level. 

But oh! what a difference in the morning! 
At a little after sunrise the train is found to be 
standing still ; 3'es, on a siding. As we raise our 
blind, what a sight meets our eyes. Orange 
orchards everyw^here, so close to the train that we 
may almost reach them, — and orange blossoms 



1 6 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

which perfume the morning air for miles around. 
We are at Redlands, California, and the Kid is 
hustled out of a sound sleep to see this glorious 
sight which she is not slow to appreciate, for 
hardly is she dressed until she is out with her little 
dress up, gathering up the golden fruit as though 
they had been grown especially for her. In fact, 
a good many did appear to be hers, for the owner 
of the orchard, who was out for an early stroll 
through the trees, kept piling up the delicious 
fruit in her lap until she could hardly get up 
again on to the car steps. The gentleman seemed 
so pleased to see how the child appreciated his 
production of fruit that he not only helped her 
up, but he too came into our drawing-room with 
his arms full, appearing to enjoy the treat almost 
as much as we did. 

A stop for the day was made here and a de- 
lightful day it was; after so much desert, cactus, 
sagebrush and sand, this beautiful garden spot 
seemed like an oasis in the Sahara Desert. The 
drive through the town and among the extensive 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 17 

orange orchards, and especially the mountain 
drive through Smiley Heights was one never to be 
forgotten. 

Our next day was spent at Riverside which 
was almost a repetition of the day before, one of 
perfect delight, with oranges, lemons and other 
tropical fruits everywhere. What a difiference we 
find between the fruit growers of California and 
those of Florida. In the South they charge you 
retail prices, sometimes more than the fruit would 
bring in Pittsburgh Market but in the State of Big 
Things they do not sell at retail. If you want a 
car load or a train load, you can do business but if 
you want to buy a dozen, they tell you they do not 
retail oranges but just go in and "help yourself", 
which we generally did. 

After Riverside came Los Angeles, that fine, 
bright, growing city, the pride of Southern Cali- 
fornia. Here is a city growing so fast that if 
you want to keep posted you must take the census 
every month. Many pages should be given to even 
half describe what we saw in this beautiful city, 



1 8 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

only our trip was not gotten up for the purpose of 
seeing large cities but the country and mountains 
and plains and such other things which we do not 
have in the East. 

'Tis only a short trolley ride to Pasadena and 
here we find one of God's garden spots and for a 
place in which to live is hard to beat anywhere. 
A favorite trip from here is to the top of Mount 
Lowe. A trolley car is taken to Altadena on the 
foothills and at the station of the inclined plane. 
This inclined plane is much longer than those 
around Pittsburgh, is not of one continuous grade 
and cannot be seen from one end to the other. At 
the top of this incline we again take the troUeyup a 
very steep grade to the top of the mountain where 
"The Tavern" has been erected for the accommo- 
dation of tourists. A good dinner is served, a 
stroll over the mountain is taken and we are ready 
to descend. A trolley car is boarded and we 
notice that the trolley pole is tied down while two 
men are at the brakes; these are released and we 
are ofif for a coast of five miles down the mountain, 




IN PASADENA, CALIF. 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 19 

sometimes so close to the edge of great precipices 
that our hair stands straight up. But we are on 
and cannot get off until the head of the incline is 
reached, where most people give a sigh of relief. 

A few days are spent at Pasadena, with a 
drive to Lucky Baldwin's farm, San Gabriel Val- 
ley, a trip to Santa Monica, another to Santa Bar- 
bara and we are ready to go north via Monterey 
and stop at the Hotel Del Monte. Thence through 
the beautiful Santa Clara Valley with a stop at 
San Jose and Palo Alto. We inspect the splendid 
show farm of Senator Stanford and the Universi- 
ty, etc., then to San Francisco. Here again we 
would like to tell about Chinatown, the Palace 
Hotel, fine business streets. Golden Gate Park and 
the seals on the rocks at Cliff House, but we have 
said the details of the big cities would not cumber 
the pages of this little narrative. A side trip to 
Santa Cruz and the big trees was most delightful 
and instructive. 

Now our journey is about half over and we 
must set our faces toward the Rising Sun. A 



20 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

ferry across the bay to Oakland is boarded. Here 
the Kid found much pleasure throwing crackers 
to the many sea gulls which followed the boat, 
and so expert and swift were these birds that no 
matter how quickly a cracker was thrown to the 
water, they would get it before it reached the sur- 
face. Often several birds at one time would dart 
after it in such a manner as to make collision ap- 
pear inevitable, but never once did they so much 
as tip wings in their scramble for food. 

On reaching our train in the depot, we are 
greeted by our same colored porter, Isaac, who 
had catered to our wants going West, and ushered 
into our same old drawing-room, which makes us 
feel at home. Our first stop was Benecia. How 
quickly our minds run back to the days when 
John C. Heenan, the "Benecia Boy", the Ameri- 
can Champion, was to wipe up the ground with 
Tom Sayers, England's worshipped hero of the 
prize ring. Whether he did or whether he 
didn't, history is not quite clear, but in our young 
and patriotic minds, nothing but a famous victory 
for America was ever for a moment admitted. 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 21 

Up through the beautiful Sacramento Val- 
ley, with thousands of fat cattle grazing in clover 
knee-deep (as plenty of rain had fallen) was a 
sight worth remembering. Sacramento, the capi- 
tal of the State, only claimed us long enough to 
take lunch and a short stroll. Here surrounded 
with everything in midsummer attire, if not al- 
most tropical, at one P. M., could we believe that 
before seven o'clock that same evening we were 
to be running through snow sheds with snow 
seven feet deep on the level. Such are the con- 
trasts of this wonderful State of California. 

Aunt Eliza never lost an opportunity to col- 
lect souvenirs, even though the train had to be 
held. One or two extra trunks had to be pur- 
chased to hold this collection and, of course, like 
all such collections, some spurious curiosities 
must crop in and especially when a whole train 
load of passengers were bent on seeing that such 
should happen. A large splinter pulled ofif a 
plank on the San Francisco wharf was palmed off 
on the poor old unsuspecting soul as a sliver from 



22 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

the dispatch boat McCuUough, which, fresh from 
the Battle of Manila, was lying in the harbor. 
The splinter was supposed to have been blown of¥ 
by a gunshot from the Spanish gunboats. The 
fact that the McCullough was only a dispatch 
boat never appeared to occur to Auntie. 

We are now approaching the Dutch Flats, 
made famous by Bret Harte, and the same old 
story of the big bats was told and of course Aunt 
Eliza had to bite, and declared she would not 
like to pass through the Dutch Flats without see- 
ing the "nine-pound bats". Of course, the train 
was stopped and not only Aunt Eliza but several 
others who were curious, climbed down the steps 
into the snow and up the steep mountain side one 
hundred fifty or two hundred feet to an old shed, 
piloted by the conductor and his lantern, only to 
be shown several nine-pound brick *'bats." 

The next morning we ran into the famous 
town of Reno, Nevada. Quite a crowd of peo- 
ple were at the station to meet our train. A little 
aloof from the rest stood some twelve or fifteen 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 23 

men who we were told constituted the Judge and 
Jury which met every train so that any married 
couples wishing divorces could have them granted 
"while you wait." 

The trip over the Sierra Nevadas was grand 
and when the best view point was reached on 
Tenesee Pass, our train was stopped long enough 
to let us get out and walk about to enjoy the 
scenery. Away down several thousand feet be- 
low, we could see a river and wagon road winding 
down through the valley. A horse and wagon 
could barely be discerned, so great was our height* 
The snow also was the first we had encountered 
at close range since our departure from home. 

The long stretch of road over Nevada is very 
tiresome, nothing to see but sage brush, cactus and 
sand; no towns of importance until we reach 
Ogden. Here we make a short stop but we are 
too near Salt Lake City to be contented to stop 
long. A short run pulls us into the wonderful 
Mormon City. 

What is the fascination of this place? Is it 



24 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

the city itself or is it because we know that here 
Mormonism has existed and flourished, dominat- 
ing the civil and religious government not only 
of the city but practically all over the State of 
Utah. What of the Mormons? Are they a for- 
eign people? Are they of a different race from 
ourselves? Are they monstrosities with horns and 
cloven hoofs? Not at all; they are simply plain 
American citizens who, on account of their re- 
ligious belief, were driven out of the little town of 
Nauvoo, Illinois, and in order to be able to be- 
lieve, preach and practice their religion in ac- 
cordance with the dictates of their own con- 
sciences, they traveled over the then almost un- 
known trails and mountain passes, to settle in a 
spot so secluded that further interference seemed 
next to impossible. But the face of the white 
man was set westward and they themselves had 
much to do with blazing the way for others. 
However, they had time enough to themselves to 
fix indelibly the imprint of their religion and 
customs for many generations to come. What 




IN THE GARDEN OF THE GODS 
BALANCE ROCK 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 25 

this peculiar people accomplished in a compara- 
tively few years, when conditions are taken into 
consideration, was simply marvelous. 

Of course we were not admitted to the Tem- 
ple but the Tabernacle was ours to enjoy and 
listen to the svv^eet strains of music from that 
marvelous organ, built almost entirely by un- 
skilled hands in a hall of their own construction, 
which for acoustic properties has never been 
equalled. The organist was very gracious and 
did not lose the opportunity of paying us the com- 
pliment of playing "Narcissus" and Foster's melo- 
dies, knowing we were loyal Pittsburghers. 

Salt Lake City has long enjoyed the reputa- 
tion of being the best laid out city in America. 
This may be true from a theorist's standpoint but 
from a practical real estate man's point of view, 
it is absolutely the worst. The streets are one 
hundred twenty-six feet wide and six hundred 
feet apart, making the squares small farms with 
no access to the center of the blocks excepting al- 
leys twenty feet wide. Some day a good live real 



26 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

estate man will come along and widen these alleys 
to a width of eighty feet and turn the city inside 
out by taking all the business to the eighty-foot 
streets instead of the abnormally wide streets for 
a city of its size. 

Of course, we had to go down to the Lake 
and take a dip. Some of the party were about to 
dive into the water from the pier but were warned 
by those who knew that diving into Great Salt 
Lake was very much like diving into a sandbank, 
so salt and heavy is the water. The Lake is a 
good place to learn to swim as one cannot sink if 
he wants to. Someone remarked that it was 
strong enough to carry an egg and the wag of the 
party looked around and said, "Yes, I see it is now 
carrying several bad eggs." 

From Salt Lake City to Glenwood Springs 
the road is full of fine scenery but the best is left 
until after passing the Springs. Glenwood Springs 
is so named because of the water gushing out of 
the mountain, almost boiling hot and heavily 
charged with all kinds of curative properties. 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 27 

Numerous rooms are chiselled out of the rocks 
into this hot mountain which serve as hot rooms, 
steam rooms, etc., for the Turkish Bath establish- 
ment. The water coming out of the mountain 
becomes quite a goodsized lake which remains 
almost too hot to bathe in, notwithstanding it is 
in the open and snow is piled up all around it. 
We had the unique experience of bathing in open 
water almost too hot to be in and at the same time 
having our friends snowball us from the shore. 

After leaving here we almost immediately 
plunge into the most beautiful mountain scenery 
and then up over Eagle Pass, we are in the heart 
of the Rocky Mountains. At this point, we dis- 
covered our train was not to go through Lead- 
ville, so the conductor was appealed to and he 
said, "Certainly, if you want to go through a min- 
ing town over ten thousand feet high, we will take 
you that way and give you an hour or two for in- 
spection of the town and mines." Some of our 
party attempted to see Leadville in too big a 
hurry but they soon found out that hurrying at 
this elevation is not the proper thing. 



28 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

Now our journey is down the Eastern slope 
of the grand old Rockies and again we discover 
that our trip via Leadville had thrown us off our 
schedule time, and if we kept running we would 
pass through the Grand Canon of the Arkansas 
River at night. Of course our conductor was 
seen and at once consented to sidetrack the train 
at Canon City until morning. The next morning 
upon reaching the Gorge, the train was stopped 
and all passengers permitted to walk through so 
that a better view could be had and again we felt 
well paid for our trouble. 

At Pueblo, a short stop was made, giving 
time to inspect the city and what attractions they 
had to show us. Then on to Colorado Springs, 
Manitou and the Garden of the Gods. The lat- 
ter we inspected from the backs of burros so small 
that we felt like changing and carrying them part 
of the time. Here we were at the foot of Pike's 
Peak but as it was winter time and all public ways 
of ascent closed, we made no effort to go up but 
drove back from Manitou to Colorado Springs 




AT THE FOOT OF PIKE'S PEAK 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 29 

via Cheyenne Canon and then by train to Denver. 

A stop of two or three days was made at Den- 
ver, where our good friends Mr. and Mrs. S., en- 
tertained us wath drives, dinners, etc. Denver is 
worth several pages, but as already stated, this lit- 
tle tale is not going to fill up its pages describing 
large cities, and as Denver comes in this class and 
is getting larger every day, it must be left out and 
satisfied with the compliment of being left out on 
account of its size. 

At Brown's Palace Hotel here, a ball was be- 
ing held on the top floor where the dancing hall 
was located and of course we must all go, but no 
one was so much in demand as the "Kid," al- 
though only four years old. She was asked b^f 
the dancing master if she w^ould dance with him 
and when she accepted, he was considerably sur- 
prised as we presume he only wanted to be nice 
with the child. So well did they dance together 
that he claimed several more which were enjoyed 
by all present. 

Everyone going to Denver must have the old 



30 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

stock story put over on him and we were not ex- 
cepted. For the benefit of those who have not 
been in Denver and as we may not get a chance to 
catch you in that city, we will let you have it right 
here. So healthy is Denver and so many miracu- 
lous cures are performed that the visitor becomes 
skeptical and refuses to believe all that is told 
him. Then they produce the man who came to 
Denver one year ago with only one lung but who 
now has three, the one he brought with him and 
the two of the young woman he has just married. 
See? 

From Denver to Omaha is but a night, and it 
is also a night that puts us back from fine weather 
to the nasty March rain, snow and sleet of our own 
climate, and we feel at once that we are nearing 
home. A stop of a few hours is more than 
enough to satisfy us that Omaha is not a nice place 
to visit in March, so back to the good warm train 
we hustle to find Isaac, our black porter, digging 
out blankets, quilts, etc., for our personal comfort 
during our journey to Chicago. But Chicago is 



Little Journeys of Kj\tharine. 31 

no better. Chicago is either too hot or too cold 
and always windy, and with all more dirty than 
Pittsburgh. A day or two was spent in Chicago 
and of course every man we met told us how big 
Chicago was, how great it was, how fast it was 
growing, but above all, their greatest boast was 
that Chicago was undoubtedly the wickedest city 
on the globe. The latter we had reason to be- 
lieve, as our faithful Isaac, the porter, was slug- 
ged and robbed of all his tips while going from 
his car to a main street only a few rods away. 

Our stay was not long but plenty long 
enough to get chilled through and through as the 
snow filled the air and the wind blew as it always 
does, and we could not help but wonder why all 
the people in Chicago do not pull up stakes and 
move to Los Angeles. 

Only one more night and we were to be back 
in dear old Pittsburgh, but when Pittsburgh was 
reached and we looked out on fifteen inches of 
snow, we wondered if it really was "dear old 
Pittsburgh" or had we been deluded, led to be- 



32 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

lieve that there is no place just like it. We felt 
very much like the man who came back from the 
Pacific Coast to his old home town in Ohio, ar- 
riving just in time to attend a funeral at vv^hich the 
presiding minister was a new comer in the neigh- 
borhood. Said minister, after eulogizing the de- 
ceased so far as his limited knov/ledge of him 
would permit, remarked that as he was a com- 
parative stranger to the departed friend, he would 
like someone of those present to make a few re- 
marks. No one appeared willing to speak, so the 
man from the West arose and said he did not care 
to say anything on that subject, but if there were 
no objections, he would like to make a few re- 
marks on the salubrious climate of Southern Cali- 
fornia. 

Now our story is ended, we are back home 
and thus endeth one of the Early Journeys of 
Katharine Jane. 



KATHARINE AND SOME OTHER 
INNOCENTS ABROAD 




CHAPTER II. 

N or about the 20th day of June, 1905, 
we, the "Bunch," started from Ebon- 
hurst, Pittsburgh, to "do" Europe in 
the latest up-to-date fashion. I am not going to 
tell you what a beautiful June evening it was, 
how gorgeous the sunset, how blue the sky and 
how green the grass, for you all know just how it 
was, not only on that particular evening but on 
most of the evenings of this beautiful month of 
Brides and Roses — especially Brides. The only 
thing that made this evening different from 
others was the grinding out of the more or less 
discordant notes of a "Dago's" hurdygurdy, to 
which the children who had called to bid the Kid 
goodbye, danced on the smooth asphaltum street. 

By the way, I forgot to tell you who the Kid 
is. Well, she is the chief member of the little 
party aforesaid who are to do England and the 
Continent. Of course, the Kid cannot go alone 



34 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

as she is only nine years old. She must have some 
assistance in making this trip so Aunt Gertie must 
go along as chief companion and chum of the Kid. 
Then there must be someone to take care of Aunt 
Gertie, so the Boss is installed for this purpose. 
Now, the party is complete were it not for one 
thing that was almost forgotten. To make a trip 
like this, it is necessary to have money, so the Con- 
ductor was reluctantly invited to go along, and, 
in order to show him that he was not invited only 
for the purpose of paying bills, he was given the 
title of "Conductor." Now, that is not a very 
dignified title as you who have traveled know, 
but to him it was great, as he knew only of the 
grand and all-important conductors of the bob- 
tailed streetcars that pass his door and who are 
gracious enough to allow him to ride on their 
cars for the small sum of five cents. 

I am not going to dwell on the trip to New 
York and tell you how hot and stufify a sleeper is, 
already made up, as is the Ten-thirty out of East 
Liberty. Not much, this is to be a pleasure 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 35 

trip and no such discomforts shall be chronicled 
here. 

Now, in addition to the "Bunch", as above 
described, our good friends, Col. M. and Mrs. 
Col. M. accompanied us as far as New York. 
Of course, this we all appreciated greatly only for 
the fact, which we could not get out of our heads, 
that they appeared anxious that we should not 
miss the boat. On our arrival in New York, we 
found a great change in temperature and the 
ladies concluded that they must do some shopping 
in the way of purchasing some warm wraps. Did 
you ever notice that ladies must shop until the last 
minute before sailing and begin at the earliest 
possible moment after landing? But why should 
we begrudge them this pleasure? What would 
traveling be to them without shopping? Shop- 
ping not being in the line of the Colonel and the 
Conductor, they put in the day as best they could 
until evening, when we all wended our way to 
Martin's, where we had a good dinner, the last 
good American dinner for several months. 



36 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

Next morning we were obliged to be up and 
about early as our ship had the uncomfortable 
habit of starting pretty early in the morning. By 
eight o'clock we were aboard the grand old 
Baltic, the then largest ship afloat. I say the 
"grand old Baltic" because she is grandly steady 
and grandly safe. Other appointments are not to 
be considered when you feel that you are safe and 
not throwing up your boots all the way over. So 
steady was this ship that small vials of tooth wash 
on our washstands were not thrown over or dis- 
turbed in the least. 

On board we met, as is always the case, many 
Pittsburghers, most of whom we knew. Also 
many prominent people were on board, among 
whom were the Duke of Sutherland, Dr. Butler, 
President of Columbia College, Madame Nor- 
dica, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel N. Nixon and others. 
But I must not forget our dear little friend 
"Fritz". Fritz was little German boy who had 
been traveling with his father and mother in 
America and was returning home. Fritz was 




KATHARINE 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 37 

about six years old and had the map of Germany 
written all over his face. Fritz had lost his 
front teeth and the place where they had been 
might represent the mouth of the river Elbe and 
his ears stuck out like the Hartz Mountains on 
the one side and the Alps on the other. Fritz 
thought he had discovered his affinity in the Kid 
with the brown hair and we have never yet given 
up the idea that an international matrimonial al- 
liance is among the possibilities. 

I will not weary you with a description of 
our ocean trip. Suffice to say that it was un- 
eventful if not rather monotonous. The Baltic 
is not a fast boat and eight days on her seems as 
long as thirty days in an automobile. We were 
to arrive off Queenstown about midnight and as 
we had not seen land for a good while we con- 
cluded to stay up and see the passengers get off 
on the lighter. The night was very dark and we 
did not get off Queenstown until two in the morn- 
ing but we were bound to see ^'auld Ireland" or at 
least the sailor boys that come out to meet us. The 



38 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

sea was quite rough that night but on the great 
Baltic, away from land or other boats, we were 
entirely unaware of it. However, when that 
lighter came alongside, we thought every minute 
would be her last. It was quite an acrobatic feat 
to board her and we were quite satisfied that 
Queenstown was not our port of entry. 

The next day we put in watching the crew 
bringing baggage out of the hold. All day long 
the cranes were manned and still they came up — 
in fact, we thought the whole insides of the ship 
were coming up, but everything must come to an 
end. Here we are up to the dock at Liverpool 
and what a hustle and bustle. The dock is full of 
cabs, busses and wagons of every description. 
Passengers and luggage are handled with re- 
markable skill. The baggage is placed alpha- 
betically along the dock before the custom offi- 
cers commence their examination. We go in 
among the porters and help to find our belong- 
ings and when one trunk is found we put the Kid 
on it until we find another and thus we utilize 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 39 

even the youngest member of our party. Soon 
we have accounted for all our "luggage" — ^we 
must say "luggage" now that we are in old Eng- 
land. The custom officers are very polite and 
everything is chalked and we are off for the 
Adelphia Hotel, the old reliable and best hotel in 
Liverpool, and it looks quite natural as we had 
stopped there some twenty years before. 

Liverpool is not a city of many attractions 
for the American tourist so we at once begin to 
look about for something satisfying. Dear old 
Chester is only twenty miles away with its wealth 
of antiquities, so down to the three-story depot we 
go. Now this depot is just like other depots, not 
three stories high but three stories low, with 
large one-story sheds and we wonder where the 
other two stories are. We are told he who would 
see must look below. Yes, cellar and subcellar. 
The subcellar is our station; we must start down 
deep as we immediately pass under the river Mer- 
sey which is deep enough to admit the largest 
ocean vessels. Up to the surface again at Birken- 



40 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

head, now a part of Liverpool, for even the some- 
times called slow Englishman has discovered the 
advantage of annexing surrounding towns. 

Arriving at Chester we seek the best hotel, 
which is Grosvenor House. After lunch we se- 
cure a good carriage and start out to do the town. 
Here we have our first experience in a trip 
through a walled city. Chester was an old 
Roman city and the wall that surrounds it is kept 
in excellent condition, being from twenty to thir- 
ty feet high and broad enough for a fine prome- 
nade on top which gives an opportunity for a 
splendid view of the city from many points. The 
Cathedral of Chester is one of the finest in Eng- 
land and with such a history that I am afraid to 
tell you all we heard. Here, too, we find the 
"Rows". Now perhaps you do not know what 
the "Rows" are. I don't wonder; no one would 
from the name. Neither would you after seeing 
them, for no two houses in them are in row with 
each other. The Rows, however, are houses 
built several hundred years ago, having two first 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 41 

floors with sidewalks passing the front doors of 
each floor, the upper sidewalk rising at the end 
of the square so as to soon reach the second story 
level and continue so until approaching the next 
cross street. Most of the buildings along these 
two-story streets are filled with small curiosity 
shops depending largely on the tourist for pat- 
ronage but in some were grocery, jewelry and 
drygoods stores. 

We drive out to Eaton Hall. This is the 
country residence of the Duke of Westminster 
and one of the most magnificent in all England. 
It is several miles from the front gate to the man- 
sion through splendid lawns and gardens. Tour- 
ists are made welcome both to roam over the 
house, grounds and stables, but no automobiles 
are allowed. These are excluded, we found on 
inquiry, because they scare the deer and other 
wild game which abound in great numbers. Any- 
one visiting England should not miss Chester and 
its surroundings. Having seen all this and much 
more, we return to Liverpool. Now it is our in- 



42 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

tention to hire an automobile and wend our way 
down to London. We want to avoid the "black 
country" which means Birmingham, New Castle, 
etc., as we have plenty of that at home. So we 
start north instead of south and continue in that 
direction until we reach York. 

Yes, dear old York, another walled town 
with a cathedral, lots of history and a brogue. Do 
not think that the Irishman is the only man with 
a brogue. The Yorkshire man can put the man 
from Tipperary to shame. In fact, it is so raspy 
that it will shell corn when talked into a crib, 
York has solved the problem of a combined depot 
and hotel. The train lands one on the back porch 
under roof; no cab is required; the porter carries 
our luggage into the office where we are booked 
for rooms, which we accept with fear and 
trembling, fearing our only view will be of rail- 
road tracks and that we shall be lulled to sleep 
with the puffing of the locomotive. With what 
surprise and delight we throw open our windows 
and see nothing but beautiful park and flowers 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 43 

everywhere. We have been conducted to the 
other side of the house. No sound or smell of the 
railroad reached us and we awoke in the morning 
to the song of the lark and to be greeted with the 
sweet perfumes of our front window flower gar- 
den. Old York is beautiful; we have spent a day 
and a night there most profitably, but our "Motor 
Car" as 'Ve English" call it, is at the door so we 
must say goodbye and be ofif. 

But you have not had a description of our 
"Motor Car". The most noticeable thing about 
it was the oldfashioned rear door with the seat 
on it just big enough for the Kid to sit on ; Aunt 
Gertie and the Boss on either side of her and the 
Conductor in front with the Driver. You must 
be sure and say "Driver" and not "Chauffeur" in 
England. Further description of the car we are 
unable to give but think it had four wheels. Our 
Driver was not a real Driver, but a Sailor, one 
who had been around the world twice and, al- 
though he was born and had lived in Liverpool, 
he had never been to London and did not know the 



44 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

road or any part of it. In steering the car, he al- 
ways looked back as though he expected the rud- 
der to respond. Notwithstanding, he was a very 
pleasant fellow and at that date all chauffeurs 
were new. 

'Twas the second day of July, the beginning 
of the English harvest. The perfume of the 
newmown hay and the ripening barley filled the 
air. A light rain had fallen the night before, 
enough to lay the dust and we sailed past the 
beautiful green fields with the fat sleek cattle 
grazing therein. All stock appears fat in Eng- 
land. Now and then a covey of quail or stately 
pheasant would walk across the road ahead of us. 
But hark! the baying of hounds! We were un- 
able to locate them, but "Tommy Atkins" thinks 
they are on our larboard side. The ladies are 
asked by the Conductor, who has some sport- 
ing blood in his veins, if they hear that glorious 
sound, but they declare they can hear nothing for 
the howling of the darned dogs. Closer and 
closer they come and all of a sudden, thirty or 




ROTTEN ROW, HYDE PARK 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 45 

forty hounds of all colors — spotted, white, tan 
and brindle — cross the road ahead of us to be fol- 
lowed by ten or a dozen redcoats on their splen- 
did English hunters, which take the' hedges with 
the greatest grace and ease. Surely this is sport 
in Merrie Old England. 

On we sped over the fine English roads, the 
first town being Selby, but as^it was not large and 
did not offer any great attractions, we did not 
stop, but continued on to Doncaster, where a short 
stop was made. Sheffield was not directly on our 
way, but as Sheffield knives and forks had fed us 
for so many years, we felt it our duty to at least 
call and pay our respects. Sheffield looks some- 
thing like Pittsburgh and is about the same size 
or a little larger. Nottingham was our objective 
point to stop over night, but when we got near 
Mansfield, a heavy rainstorm came up and we 
made that port. Here we found a quaint old 
stagecoach hotel that appealed to us, so we con- 
cluded to put up there for the night. 

This was our first experience in the small 



46 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

English town "Inn," and as we were prepared to 
extol the beauties of this kind of a hotel, nothing 
met our eyes that did not bring forth an expres- 
sion of joy. The old fourposter bed with its 
spreading canopy, made way back dear only 
knows when; with it our imagination soon got 
busy and manufactured a history that would have 
made glad the heart of the oldest antique dealer. 
Oliver Cromwell, Shakespeare and, some were 
even willing to insist, the Black Prince himself 
had occupied this venerable couch. But the Con- 
ductor, wholly lacking in sentiment and cruel 
enough to throw cold water on our fondest imagi- 
nations, said he was willing to bet twenty shillings 
that it was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 
Now, you must know that this was not a paid 
conductor, but a paying conductor, which is en- 
tirely different. A paid conductor is one who 
wants to give you the worth of your money and is 
ready to stuff you with all kinds of legends, be- 
ing only restricted by the extent of gullibility of 
his patrons. Even the musty odor was entirely 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 47 

in keeping with the place and went far to prove 
its great age, but again, the Conductor said this 
was no doubt caused by the remains of deceased 
rats under the floor. Can you imagine a more 
cruel remark to make to honest sentimental tour- 
ists who were trying to get all they could out of 
a trip like this? People cannot be too careful in 
selecting a conductor if they want to enjoy to the 
fullest extent a trip abroad. Mark Twain once 
said that he was very careful in selecting his 
parents, but even that is not so important as the 
selection of a conductor. So with all our dis- 
couragements, we enjoyed the stop at this little 
old-fashioned inn little more than if it had been 
a mere Waldorf-Astoria or a Ritz-Carlton at 
which anybody can stop. 

In the morning our road lay directly 
through Sherwood forests and the Kid was look- 
ing behind every tree for Robin Hood, but the 
Conductor said he was much more afraid of the 
Sheriff of Nottingham, as our Sailor Driver had 
gotten more confidence in the car and was letting 



48 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

it out and exceeding the speed limit. Notting- 
ham was reached before noon, so only a short 
stop was made in order to reach Leicester 
for lunch, where we found a quaint old-fashioned 
hotel, but clean and well kept; not even the 
smell of old age and — other things. Having 
enjoyed our lunch and given our iron steed a 
good drink of "petrol" — in this country it would 
be gasoline, but in England petrol always — ^we 
are ofif again over the fine hard roads through 
Rugby and Coventry. As there was no football 
on at Rugby, and as Lady Godiva did not ride on 
this particular day, we did not stop long, but 
headed directly for Kenilworth Castle. Here we 
got our first experience with England's very clear 
water. After leaving the main road for a by 
road leading toward the Castle, we were obliged 
to cross a small stream, but as the water was very 
clear and the bottom could be plainly seen, it ap- 
peared very shallow and our Driver failed to 
slack up. But it was deeper than he had calcu- 
lated, and the radiator making a splendid batter- 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 49 

ing-ram, the water was thrown high in the air, and 
as our speed was such as to bring us immediately 
under it as it came down, we were completely 
drenched. We were well prepared for rain, as 
all who travel in England must be, but we were 
caught off our guard this time. 

It is beyond our power to describe the grand 
old ruined Castle. Neither will we attempt to 
tell you of the high old jinks that must have taken 
place there as well as the plots and intrigues, but 
we all know that England's grand old Virgin 
Queen and her associates pulled off some stunts 
that would have made New York's Four Hun- 
dred sit up and take notice. 

Lemington, the center of the Shakespeare 
attractions, is our destination and our stopping 
place for the night. Hotel Regent, what a de- 
lightful stopping place after a long day's ride. 
I wonder how many Americans have stopped 
there. The next morning our Conductor came 
down and stated to the proprietor that it was 
the 4th day of July, he did not know whether 



50 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

he could get along without seeing an Ameri- 
can flag and asked where he might be able 
to purchase one. The host very kindly di- 
rected him to a store where he thought the desired 
emblem could be had, stating that he had not 
thought of it being the 4th of July. He imme- 
diately proceeded to unfurl the Stars and Stripes 
over the hotel, which he gallantly referred to the 
Conductor's attention on his return, saying: "Do 
you see what has grown over the hotel since you 
went out?" Our flag was larger than we had 
thought of getting and had a staff. It was al- 
right when the car was going, but dragged on the 
ground a little when stopped. All that day we 
displayed grand Old Glory and not once was she 
insulted, but many times saluted, and especially 
by our friends, the Irish, who do most of the re- 
pairing of the roads. 

Our first stop was at Warwick, the quaint old 
town and grand old castle. Warwick Castle is 
not a ruin like Kenilworth, but is in fine repair 
and occupied by one of the family known for so 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 51 

many generations as the King Makers of Eng- 
land. This little narrative is not intended as a 
guidebook, so we will not attempt to describe 
what we saw here, but must say the fine old cas- 
tle, the beautiful grounds, the splendid old trees 
transplanted from Lebanon, and the gorgeous 
peacocks that startle you on all occasions by their 
hideous screeches or the sudden display of their 
magnificent plumage, leave an impression that is 
not easily forgotten. 

Then comes quaint old Stratford-on-Avon, 
not the town but the history that most interests 
us, and what of the history? It is here that the 
greatest writer of the English language was born, 
married, died and was buried. Yes, it is true 
that at Stratford-on-Avon, William Shakespeare 
was born and here he married Anne Hathaway, 
and here in the church lays his mortal remains, 
and here in this church over his remains is the 
marble slab with this inscription which he evi- 
dently composed. 



52 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

"Good friend, for Jesus' sake, forbear 
To dig the dust enclosed here, 

Blest be the man that spares these stones, 
And curst be he that moves my bones." 

But did the man who wrote this doggerel com- 
pose England's greatest literary works? Every- 
one must judge for himself. 

Most tourists have their official photogra- 
pher along but we are the exception so the town 
artist is employed. We should have gone to one 
of the historic houses and used it as a background 
for the picture, but this Bunch wants both its 
story and picture to be free from sentiment 
or anything that might resemble the legends and 
fairy tales pumped into us. With the picture 
taken, there is nothing more to keep us, so the 
rudder is set heading us for Oxford, where we 
arrive shortly before sundown to find a brass 
band playing in the public square. We thought 
it was probably playing in honor of our arrival, 
but were sure of it when, catching sight of Old 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 53 

Glory, they changed their tune to the Stars and 
Stripes Forever, and we promptly dipped our 
flag in recognition of the compliment extended. 

Here at historic old Oxford we must spend 
the night and a very comfortable hotel was found. 
In traveling it is the little things that strike us 
more than the big ones. With reference to the 
customs and manners of the people, for instance, 
the Conductor had occasion to seek a telegraph 
office and was directed down street where he was 
looking but unable for the moment to locate. A 
very nice looking gentleman approached him, 
stating he observed he (the Conductor) was a 
stranger and suggested that he might be able to 
be of service in finding what was wanted. When 
told the object of the search, the gentleman im- 
mediately turned back and walked several hun- 
dred feet to show where to find the office. It 
struck us how nice and obliging this was, but 
would it occur in America? I am afraid not, 
but how much better that it should. The next 
day we had the pleasure of again meeting this 



54 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

gentleman in one of the colleges where he was a 
professor. The recognition was mutual and very 
pleasant. 

After seeing through most of the college 
buildings and grounds, we started for Henley, 
where the international rowing races were being 
held. Here we saw a beautiful sight; all the 
house boats, grand stands, etc., beautifully deco- 
rated and the flags of all nations floating to the 
breeze. We were in just time to see the race be- 
tween the Leanders and our own Philadelphias 
and also to see our own home team beaten, so 
"subsequent proceedings interested us no more" 
and we wended our way down to Windsor Castle, 
which we went through, and, after a late lunch, 
started to complete the first link of our automo- 
bile trip to London. So down through Windsor 
town and over the bridge past Eaton College and 
down the King's Road, but as we approached the 
World's Metropolis, we found the tremendous 
traffic was hindering our progress, so as we were 
more or less familiar with the way, we cut across 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 55 

through St. James Park and up through Water- 
loo Place to Pall Mall, arriving at the Carlton 
Hotel a little before dark. We had telegraphed 
for rooms, and upon being given our names, all 
from the proprietor to the bell boy seemed to 
know all about us and where our rooms were. 
This is good hotel keeping. 

As we intended to spend several weeks here, 
we let our Sailor Driver go. We were sorry to 
lose him, as he had been a very obliging and 
pleasant fellow and seemed like one of our party. 
The Conductor gave him a comfortable tip and 
suggested as he had never seen London this would 
be an opportunity and was surprised to hear him 
say that he had always heard London was a pretty 
bad place for sailors and he thought he would 
start back at once, stopping till morning at a small 
town on the road. Perhaps he was right. 

London was not new to any of us except the 
Kid, but is always interesting to anyone unless it 
be our ''Tommy Atkins". After a thorough 
scrubbing we dressed and came down to dinner 



56 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

and felt quite at home when we heard the beauti- 
ful strains of music and recognized our own towns- 
man, Bert Nevin's "Narcissus". As we were all 
hungry we ordered a good dinner. Being also 
very dry we observed with interest that a number 
of people were partaking apparently with much 
relish a drink from the look of which had we been 
south of Mason's and Dixon's line, we should 
have pronounced a "Mint Julep," but as the 
liquid appeared white and sparkled considerably, 
the ladies said it was either apollinaris or vichy 
with mint in it and of course a soft drink, and as 
it looked so refreshing said they would have some 
too. One glass, while touching the spot, did not 
seem to be sufficient to quench the thirst which the 
long ride had created, and another was ordered 
and drank with much relish. The Conductor 
did not want to spoil the pleasure of the dinner 
by saying just then that "champagne cup" is not 
classed among the soft drinks and thought he 
would say nothing about it, allowing it to speak 
for itself. On going to our rooms the ladies re- 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 57 

marked that they believed riding in an automo- 
bile had the same effect as the ship, leaving one 
vv^ith sea legs for awhile. 

As this little narrative is only to be a book- 
let, it will be impossible to tell what we saw in 
London, but of course the Kid must see the Tower, 
St. Paul's, Hyde Park, Rotten Row, Kew 
Gardens, the British Museum, the Parliament 
Buildings, Westminster Abbey and a thousand 
and one other things. There are two ways of 
seeing London, one is to spend about two weeks 
and see in a superficial way the most notable 
things, and the other is to spend a lifetime, neither 
of which would complete the job. Well, as we 
did not have a lifetime at our disposal for this 
purpose, we chose the former way and let it go 
at that. 

On leaving London our next objective point 
was Ostend, Belgium. On making inquiry as to 
the best hotel at Ostend, we were told the Hotel 
Splendide certainly would give us full satisfaction 
and as the name sounded good to us, to the Splen- 



58 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

dide we went and never regretted it. The train 
ride down to Dover was pleasant and not too long 
and even the trip over the Channel was very pleas- 
ant for once, — not a roll or white cap to make us 
afraid. Being met at the door of the Hotel 
Splendide by the hall porter, a fullblooded Hindu 
dressed in all the splendors of the East, we 
thought we might have made a mistake and ar- 
rived in the Orient instead of Continental Europe. 
Our stay at this beautiful watering place was 
most delightful. The nice little bathing-wagons 
instead of our bathhouses were a real curiosity to 
us. These bathhouses are on wheels and when 
you enter them a man hitches a horse to them and 
hauls you down to the water's edge where you get 
out after having put on your bathing suit and take 
your bath. Of course you are expected to remem- 
ber the number of your bathingwagon to which 
you return and again dress, throwing out your 
wet bathing suit to be gathered up and tipping 
your attendant. Then you pull a string, fasten- 
ing the ring in the end on to a hook which raises 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 59 

a small flag on the outside of the wagon which is 
the signal to the man with the horse to pull you 
up the beach again and your ablution is completed. 

While we had been obliged to see our own 
countrymen defeated in a rowing contest in Eng- 
land, we had the great satisfaction of seeing our 
own crack New York polo team defeat the great 
Hungarian noblemen's team. The Hungarians 
were a splendid looking lot of men but did not ap- 
pear to have the skill or horsemanship that our 
men had and they went down to defeat with not 
any too good grace as they seemed to be hard 
losers. 

From Ostend we went to The Hague without 
stopping at either Antwerp or Brussels, as we had 
been both places before and were anxious to press 
on to the land of the Dutchman. What a quaint 
and beautiful city is Holland's capital with The 
House in the Woods and its other attractions. All 
visitors at The Hague of course must go down to 
Holland's seashore resort, Scheveningen, but nice 
as it is, it cannot be compared to Ostend. 



6o Little Journeys of Katharine. 

From the Hague we go to Amsterdam and 
see Holland's metropolis and a fine city it is with 
its streets of water as well as land. One almost 
thinks he is in Venice and especially at night when 
we look from the windows of the Hotel Amstel 
and see the thousands of colored lights arching 
the river and canals. Of course we must go to 
see the diamonds being cut, and the old palaces 
and galleries and what not, but the most interest- 
ing trip is down the river by boat to Zaandam, 
then by auto or carriage to Monnickendam, 
where we get a nice clean lunch, and then get into 
a small boat with a boatman dressed in all the 
gorgeous trousers and other trimmings of the me- 
dieval Dutchman, for a nice sail to the Island of 
Marken where all the people from the youngest 
to the oldest dress as their ancestors did for hun- 
dreds of years past. The little boys and girls are 
dressed exactly alike except that the boy has a 
button on the crown of his cap. The young 
lovers walk around with their little fingers locked 
together, the many skirts of the young lady and 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 6i 

the great bulging trousers of the young man, mak- 
ing it impossible for them to get closer together. 
After going through several of the neat and clean 
little houses where a family of father and mother 
and six or seven children all live in one room, with 
only one bed visible, we wonder where so many 
sleep, but are shown that what looked like drawers 
were really beds shoved into the wall during the 
daytime and drawn out at night. 

After seeing the people and their customs in 
this interesting Island, we again take a sail boat 
and land on the mainland at Volendam. Here we 
see another kind of dress, much like those on the 
Island of Marken, but of a richer material and of 
better make. The people of Volendam are well- 
to-do and their Sunday dress probably cost more 
than your best "bib and tucker". From Volen- 
dam we drive to Edam, where the best Edam 
cheese is made. Here we go through the cheese 
factory and stables for the cows which are clean 
as anybody's house. Of course we buy some 
cheese and have it sent over in bond. It proba- 



62 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

bly costs more than it would to buy it from your 
grocer, but one has the satisfaction of knowing 
that it is the real thing. 

Back to old Amsterdam, but we have lost all 
desire to see more of a big city since our delight- 
ful visit among the people of the Island of 
Marken and Volendam and all the rest of the 
dams, so we to "Deutschland Kommen" and up 
the famous Rhine we pass through the towns of 
Dusseldorf, Cologne, and past Bonn, Coblenz and 
Fair Bingen on the Rhine and in spite of all we 
can do, the old familiar poem keeps running 
through our heads: 
"A soldier of the Legion lay dying in Algiers; 

There was lack of woman's nursing, there was 
dearth of woman's tears; 

But a comrade stood beside him, while his life- 
blood ebb'd away. 

And bent with pitying glances to hear what he 
might say. 

The dying soldier faltered as he took that com- 
rade's hand, 

And he said, 'I never more shall see my own, my 
native land. 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 63 

Take a message and a token to some distant friends 
of mine, 

For I was born at Bingen — at Bingen on the 
Rhine.' " 

But this a practical age, so terribly practical 
that half of the poetry and sentiment, if not all, 
are ground out of us as the cruel locomotive 
wheels keep whirling along the top of the steel 
rails, bearing us to Frankfort-on-the-Main. 

We have pleasant recollections of Frankfort 
of years gone by but we find a new city. We are 
whirled up to the best hotel in the city — the grand 
Hotel Furstenhof, as cold as an iceberg and as 
new as Chicago. Are we to be deprived of all 
of the quiet comforts of old cities? If so, why 
not stay at home? New York can furnish bet- 
ter hotels than any new city in Europe. How- 
ever, Frankfort is a fine city and a good central 
place to stop. Here we concluded to hire a ma- 
chine. Directions were gotten where to go and 
the Conductor after considerable difficulty found 
the place. He also found a lot of people who 



64 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

spoke the worst German on top of dirt; he could 
not understand them and of course they could not 
understand him. It became plainly evident that 
the services of an interpreter were absolutely nec- 
essary, but where in the world could you find any- 
body who could understand such Dutch? They 
said a young man had just come in who was tour- 
ing the country, wanting some repairs made, and 
"he might be able to understand you^\ What do 
you think of that? The young man was brought 
forth. He looked good. He probably had trav- 
eled in England. The Conductor asked him if 
he could speak English and was told promptly 
that he could speak nothing else. Now how was 
that to help out? The Conductor felt all along 
that he could do that but a fellow feeling seemed 
to exist between them as they could at least under- 
stand each other. On being asked if he lived in 
England, he said. No, in the United States. 
Which? Pennsylvania. Where in Pennsylvan- 
ia? In Pittsburgh. Where in Pittsburgh? East 
End. "Why, for heaven's sake", cried the Con- 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 65 

ductor, "you don't live at the corner of Penn and 
Murtland Avenues, do you?" Not quite, just one 
square southeast. What's your name? Moore. 
"I know your father well," said the Conductor, 
and thus our great big world grows small. But 
how were we to get a machine if he could speak 
no more German than his name would indicate 
and a week's touring had taught him? Necessity 
knows no law and very little German, but when 
you want a machine and they want your money, 
you generally get together; so did we. 

The next morning found the machine at the 
hotel door and in a few minutes we were headed 
for the mountains with the beautiful watering 
place, Homburg, as our destination. Homburg is 
a favorite stopping place for the Kaiser, but he 
was not there while we were. We presume he did 
not care to divide honors with us. From Hom- 
burg to Bad Nauheim was our next move and then 
to Wiesbaden, all beautiful places. In Wiesbaden 
we had our first and only accident. A big Ger- 
man and a small pushcart. The cart had four 



66 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

three-gallon cans of milk on it before we struck 
it. What that big man said to us was a plenty. 
We all understood him. Isn't it strange that 
swearing is so much alike in all languages? There 
is one sure panacea for troubles-in Europe, how- 
ever, and after a handful of change had been ap- 
plied, that great big German face which looked so 
terrible to us before beamed like a harvest moon. 
Then we began to wonder how long it would take 
him to load up again and hide in the alley await- 
ing the approach of another automobile. Oh, 
these honest Germans, one cannot most always 
sometimes generally tell. 

Back to Frankfort, then to Darmstadt and 
Heidelberg. Yes, dear old Heidelberg, nestled 
in among the hills with history and legends ga- 
lore. What a book it would all make. The 
great castle on the mountain above and the swift- 
ly flowing Neckar at its feet, the University and 
the Beer Gardens vieing with each other for su- 
premacy in the town itself. Our auto was to be 
at the door at eight o'clock but late the night be- 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 67 

fore, the Conductor learned that seven duels be- 
tween the swellest of the swell aristocratic German 
students would be pulled off on the mountain 
across the river beginning at seven A. M., and as 
he was a man of peace and deplored the very ex- 
istence of such a horrible practice, he felt it his 
honest duty to attend at this function and perhaps 
he could persuade them to desist. So word was 
sent to the garage not to have the machine ready 
until nine o'clock. In order to reach the field of 
battle in good time, an early start was made. Af- 
ter swallowing a cup of coffee, a carriage was se- 
cured and the driver tipped off as to where to go 
and given to understand that no time must be lost 
lest blood might unnecessarily be shed before our 
peacemaker could reach the scene. 

After a hard drive far up the mountain, a 
little inn was found where the slaughter was to 
take place. The tap room was already opened 
and doing a good business with combatants, their 
friends, doctors and undertakers, all of whom had 
come over in case their services might be needed. 



68 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

On the second floor a large room was provided 
with no furniture but an operating table which 
was covered with bandages, surgeons' needles, etc. 
While preparations were being made, our hero 
(the Conductor) was permitted to remain in this 
room, but when everything was completed, he was 
informed that as the duels to be fought this morn- 
ing were between members of the very first fami- 
lies of the Fatherland, no spectators would be al- 
lowed to remain in the room. We were unable 
to say why this rule was adopted unless they were 
afraid our Conductor would faint at the sight of 
blood and especially such blue blood. However, 
the mountainside rose immediately in the rear of 
the house in such a manner that one could walk 
right up level with the window and thus look in 
and see as well as if inside. 

After a very great deal of preparation by the 
principals and their seconds and special examina- 
tions by the doctors, all eventually seemed to be 
ready. We were unable to imagine why the doc- 
tors were so particular unless they were testing 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 69 

their hearts or looking to see if a yellow streak 
existed somewhere. Well, at last everything ap- 
peared to be quite ready. The first couple out 
were two boys about eighteen or nineteen years of 
age. One toed the mark with great nonchalance 
while the other came with fear and trembling and 
had to be supported. However, he must have 
had great courage to overcome such terrible fear. 
In his pitiable condition nothing could be ex- 
pected of him so at the command of the referee, a 
slash, a stroke or two, and he had received a gash 
across the cheek that was to pronounce him a hero 
for life. Honor had been satisfied. He was put 
on the operating table by the doctors and his 
wounds sewed up, but not too closely, — it must 
be done in such a manner as to leave a horrible 
scar that would disfigure him through life. The 
next battle was between two older students and 
was somewhat a better entertainment, as enter- 
tainment it was, there being no danger of serious 
injury but only the disfiguring process as above 
stated. After witnessing five contests and being 



JO Little Journeys of Katharine. 

fully satisfied with this line of amusement, — a 
start was made with the feeling that the German 
duel is not so dangerous as our wrestling matches 
nor so artistic as our prize fights. Much of the 
awe and admiration for the man with the sword 
scar has departed from us. 

The iron horse that was to carry us to Strass- 
burg by way of Baden Baden was at the door and 
all were impatient to start. The diminutive look- 
ing machine seemed entirely incapable of carrying 
us out of this mountainous country, but the chauf- 
feur insisted that "the road is good". This was 
about the extent of his English vocabulary. Our 
German friend was right; it appeared hardly fif- 
teen minutes until we had left the mountains and 
were in the open country consisting of the typical 
small farms of southern Germany. How little 
the German farmer has improved his condition in 
the last two hundred years. Wheat, rye and bar- 
ley were being harvested entirely without ma- 
chinery. A kit of farm hands consists of five per- 
sons, four women and one man and he an old man 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 71 

at that, as all the young men are either in the 
army, at school, or as is the case in this country, 
gotten tired of the farm and gone to the city for 
employment and to seek their fortunes. 

The little machine did nobly and long before 
noon Carlsruhe, the home of Bismarck, was passed 
and we were approaching Baden Baden, but here 
we must encounter some mountains again. Baden 
Baden is a small place, only known as a watering- 
place, but very pretty with several good hotels and 
a fine *^Bad Haus" as the Springs and Casino are 
called. We get a good lunch at the Hotel 
Stephanie, drink as much water as we can hold 
and, after resting and sightseeing for an hour or 
two, we are off for Strassburg, which we reach 
about sundown. Here we find a beautiful city 
and quaint old town combined where all the old 
people speak French and all the young ones Ger- 
man. Strassburg, as you know, as well as all of 
Alsace and Lorraine, were a part of the indemnity 
exacted from France by Bismarck at the close of 
the Franco-Prussian War. Since that time Ger- 



72 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

many has been trying to Germanize the people by 
forbidding the teaching of French in the public 
schools. The old as a rule, and many of the 
young, are still loyal to France on the quiet. Em- 
peror William has tried to win the people by 
building a new "Schloss" here, the first new 
Schloss we have ever seen. It appeared deserted 
and, as we passed through it only a few guides 
and many guards were visible, so all in all, we 
doubt if the Kaiser finds it a very congenial abid- 
ing place. 

After Strassburg we turn our faces toward 
Switzerland and up alongside the Rhine, through 
Bale (pronounced Basel) to Lucerne. Rooms 
had been telegraphed for at The Sweitzerhof 
where we had stopped years before with great 
comfort, but what was our disappointment when 
we arrived to be told that the house was entirely 
full. They told us, however, that they had se- 
cured rooms for us at a little new hotel just below 
which they felt sure we would like and enjoy. 
We doubted it, but were delighted to find that 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 73 

the rooms engaged for us were on the second floor 
with a nice balcony overlooking directly on Lake 
Lucerne. The Carnival of Venice, which is 
celebrated once a year, was being held and as it 
was now dark, hundreds of brilliantly lighted 
boats crowded with dancers, all dressed in the cos- 
tumes of the country, were continually passing to 
and fro in front of the hotel. We were particu- 
larly hungry and yet did not want to miss any of 
the pageant, so we had our dinner served out on 
our own private balcony, where a splendid view 
was obtained all during dinner and far into the 
night. 

Those who have traveled in Switzerland 
need no description of Lucerne, but all will agree 
at once that it is one of the most delightful spots 
in all Europe. The sail on the Lake, the ascent 
of both the Rigi and Mount Pilatus, viewing the 
Lion cut out of the rock, and buying cuckoo 
clocks were indulged in to our heart's content, but 
we are touring and cannot tarry too long even at 
dear old Lucerne. So on to Stuttgart by way of 



74 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

Rheinfelden and Schaffhausen where the Rhine 
falls, producing a splendid spectacle, not of 
course so grand as our own Niagara Falls, but 
beautiful in the extreme. Stuttgart, the capital 
of Wurttemberg, is a beautiful city; we cannot 
stop long as we are heading for Munich by way 
of Augsberg. 

Of course, it would not do to leave Munich 
without saying something of the magnificent pic- 
tures in the many galleries of this great, quiet, 
cultured German city on the banks of the "Iser 
rolling rapidly". The splendid music in the great 
beer gardens, patronized by the best people of 
Munich as well as the strangers within her gates, 
but we must not dwell on this point, as it is rather 
a delicate subject and in our exuberance we might 
give ourselves away. 

Back to Lucerne, crossing Lake Constance 
and Lake Zurich, through the city of Zurich, 
which is the largest and one of the prettiest in 
Switzerland. After another short stay at Lu- 
cerne, we take the train for Interlaken, over the 




SCENE ON I^AKE LUCERNE 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 75 

mountains on the funicular railroad and down 
the lake on the boat with the majestic Jungfrau 
looming far above into the clouds. But the Jung- 
frau, unlike the Pilatus and the Rigi, has not been 
conquered with the funicular railroad, so we have 
to content ourselves with reaching about a ten 
thousand feet level, going up one side by way of 
Grundewald and returning by Lauterbrunnen. 
Interlaken furnishes much grander mountain 
scenery than does Lucerne but lacks many of the 
other things that make Lucerne so attractive. 

Our next stopping place is Berne, the capital, 
with its many attractions, and especially the bears. 
No one would think of going to Berne without 
seeing the bears; in fact, they could not, for the 
bear is everywhere. 

Lausanne, our next stop, is attractive in many 
ways, affording good schools and pure French for 
the education of the young, but Geneva is too close 
to tarry long here. No one ever stays long enough 
in Geneva to grow tired of it. We had had oppor- 
tunity enough of mountain-climbing so did not go 



76 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

up Mont Blanc, which is reached from this place. 
Geneva is a beautiful little city built on both sides 
of Lake Geneva, the spill of which forms the 
headwater of the river Rhone. Of course, one 
cannot leave Geneva without purchasing a watch, 
and, as the Kid was the only one not already sup- 
plied, she was the lucky one. The ladies found 
great pleasure in shopping here, as prices seemed 
low and the shopkeepers so nice that they could 
not refuse to buy. If changes in garments had to 
be made, that, too, could and would be done and 
if an excuse were given that it would be impossi- 
ble to wait in the city for the time required to 
make the changes, the answer would come : "We 
will send you the goods and if not satisfactory, you 
can return them, not paying us a cent." 

The more we see of Geneva, the less sympa- 
thy we have for John Calvin on account of being 
exiled there. If ever we are to be exiled and it 
makes no difference to the exiling party, we would 
suggest Geneva. While a Swiss city, everyone 
will tell you that a purer French is spoken here 



Little Journeys of Katharine. ^'j 

than in France itself, for which reason many boys 
and girls are sent here to study French. This is 
our last stop in beautiful, free and hospitable 
Switzerland and quite loath we are to leave it, al- 
though gay Paris is just before us and destined to 
be our next stop. 

A whole day's run in a French railroad train 
is required to reach Paris. Our party was large 
enough to command a compartment to ourselves, 
although two seats were still unoccupied. A suit- 
able tip to the guard was all that was necessary 
and frequently we had an opportunity of seeing 
him turn away passengers who argued that there 
was room for two more. This guard, while per- 
haps not true to the best interests of the railroad, 
certainly was true to us, which is not always the 
case with people who can be bought; the trouble 
being that they will not stay bought. The day's 
ride was not an uncomfortable one and a good 
opportunity was given to see quite a little of the 
French country. 

Arriving somewhat after dark at the French 



78 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

capital, we made for the best looking carriage and 
told the driver the name of our hotel, The Elysee 
Palace, where we had telegraphed for accommo- 
dations. As this is one of the best and newest of 
Paris' numerous hotels, we were surprised that he 
had never heard of it. Several other drivers were 
appealed to with no better results. Finally, after 
writing it on paper and finding that most of the 
drivers could not read, — a more intelligent man 
was found who said something to the driver that 
sounded nothing like what we had said to him, 
and then all threw up their brows and cried: 
''Oui, oui", our driver cracked his whip and we 
were off. We have often wondered why the peo- 
ple of Paris do not understand French. This ex- 
perience was a little hard on Aunt Gerty, who was 
to be our interpreter when we got to France, but 
she made good later when educated French people 
were encountered. 

Our hotel proved to be very attractive and 
situated on the magnificent avenue. Champs 
Elysees, but as we found in several other fine ho- 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 79 

tels, they could "sleep us better than they could eat 
us", so we soon got the habit of going out for din- 
ner where we could get things more to our lik- 
ing and where Parisian life in all its gayety enter- 
tained us as we dined. In this connection a rather 
unique situation was brought about. A lady 
friend of the whole party from Toledo, Ohio, who 
was in England, telegraphed that she would dine 
with us the next evening. Crossing the Channel 
she met a lady shipmate of her late voyage across 
the Atlantic, who advised that she go to her hotel 
and the Toledo lady, having selected none, ac- 
quiesced. Securing a room to her satisfaction, 
she dressed for dinner, called a carriage and said 
to the driver "Elysee Palace". He promptly 
failed to understand her. However, she had less 
trouble than we and arrived in time for dinner. 
We had decided to dine at the "Cafe de Paris" 
that evening and, as it made no difference to our 
friend, there we drove. After dining and seeing 
the sights, our guest declared she must get back to 
her hotel. On being asked at which hotel she was 



8o Little Journeys of Katharine. 

stopping, she wrinkled her brow, bit her lips, and 
failed to remember either the name or the loca- 
tion. There she was — what was to be done? At 
last, her countenance brightened and she said: "I 
have it — The Oriental. The everlasting cabman 
was again called and told to drive to The Orien- 
tal Hotel. He drove for about three miles, across 
the Seine and dear only knows where and pulled 
up in front of a large hotel, only to bring the ex- 
clamation from our guest: "That's not the place". 
Neither it was, but where was the place? That 
was the question. Every name that sounded like 
"Oriental" was run over. At last our driver's 
face brightened and he shouted: "L'Oriente". 
"That sounds good", said our friend, so back over 
bridges and through streets until we began to 
think he was going to take us to The Orient for 
sure. Finally he pulled up in front of a hotel 
and the porter coming to open the carriage door 
was recognized and all were happy. On looking 
around, we found that we were just across the 
street from the Cafe de Paris where we had dined. 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 8i 

But were we not in "Gay Paree" and have not 
many people been lost there? 

Well, here we were confronted with the same 
problems as in London, so much to see, so much to 
tell about and so much not to tell about. The 
Louvre, both the picture gallery and the shop, 
and I am not sure that I should tell it, but the shop 
did have a few more trips to its credit than the 
gallery. Of course, for the Kid's sake, we had to 
visit Napoleon's Tomb, the Church of the Made- 
leine, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the col- 
umn of the Bastile, the column Vendome, the 
Grand Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, The Tro- 
cadero, Notre Dame, the Statue of Jeanne d' Arc, 
etc., etc., etc. One day, by automobile to Ver- 
sailles; the beauty and grandeur of this summer 
capital of the French people we cannot attempt 
to describe in this little booklet, but must say for 
the benefit of those contemplating a visit to Paris, 
that this must not be left out. Another day, Sun- 
day, at St. Cloud, was well spent, where thousands 
of the French people go with their families to 



82 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

picnic and commune with nature. Here the 
French people of the middle or poorer classes 
show to good advantage, where all, from the old- 
est to the youngest, join in a day of rest. Then to 
Fontainebleu, a fine day's drive of about eighty 
miles round trip. Here was one of Napoleon's 
favorite palaces. On our trip here, we found 
that Uncle Sam was not the only man who knows 
how to collect revenue^. Our chauffeur had hardly 
passed out of the gates of the city until he stopped 
to buy gasoline. When the Conductor remon- 
strated with him for stopping so soon and asked 
why he had not supplied himself before starting, 
he was informed that a high revenue on gasoline 
in the city made it necessary to stop and buy as soon 
as the city limits were passed. This law also made 
it necessary to stop every machine and open the 
gasoline tank and run a gauge down to measure 
how much you had. I wonder if this is one of 
the good laws our civic reformers never tire of 
telling us the European cities have. Another lit- 
tle trip we found very pleasant was to Robinson 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 83 

for dinner. This trip is not in the guide books, 
but is certainly unique inasmuch as your dinner 
is served high up in the trees. The tables are 
reached by ladders and the food sent up by rope 
and pulleys, the waiters only going up once to 
set the tables. 

Paris, like all other attractive places, must 
be left behind by the tourist, so we take the train 
for Calais to cross again the much dreaded Eng- 
lish Channel. Our trip was uneventful so far as 
the train was concerned, but oh, that boat. Never 
was that old Channel rougher and never were 
more sick people on one boat. Every passenger 
except the Kid gave up all they had. A man and 
woman were sitting next each other with heads 
resting on each other's shoulders whenever con- 
venient. The ship doctor was very busy. Notic- 
ing this couple and observing that the man was 
very sick, said to the woman: "Your husband is 
quite sick". "Yes," said she, "he is sick alright, 
but he is not my husband. I never saw him be- 
fore." The Boss was hors de combat on this voy- 



84 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

age and the command had to be handed down to 
the next in rank until it reached the Kid, she being 
the only one capable. On arriving at Dover, 
considerable efifort was necessary to arouse all 
enough to board the train for London. Arriving 
at London, the driver was told to drive to the 
Carlton, our old stamping ground of several 
months before, where every man and boy seemed 
to know and welcome us as old friends. It cer- 
tainly did sound good to hear everybody speaking 
in our own language — it appeared that we were 
nearing home. 

We had intended going from London to 
Liverpool by train but recollections of the beauti- 
ful English country and good roads appealed to 
us and as the distance was only two hundred miles 
and could be driven by machine in time to catch 
our boat, that mode of travel was decided on. Ar- 
rangements were made for a machine for the next 
morning at eight o'clock, but at that hour rain 
was falling in such torrents and indications were 
that it would continue that the automobile man 



Little Journeys of ICatharine. 85 

was telephoned and asked what it would cost to 
cancel our contract and were told "Nothing," 
which we thought very fair. By noon the rain had 
ceased and we again called up our man and found 
that he was still ready to take us, so the start was 
made. We had not much more than gotten 
started when again it began to rain and kept at 
it off and on most of the afternoon. As the day 
advanced, it grew very dark and only then did we 
remember that this was the day of the great 
eclipse of the sun. Several times the sky would 
clear enough to permit us to see the sun but was 
misty enough that we could look directly at the 
sun without hurting our eyes. In this way we 
were enabled to see it in all stages of the eclipse. 

By evening we were again at the Hotel Re- 
gent, Lemington, where we were recognized and 
welcomed as the people with the flag. We were 
chilled through and through by the cold and rain 
augmented by the speed of the machine. A big 
wood fire was burning in the hotel and all gath- 
ered round it. A good hot dinner was served and 



86 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

all were as good as new. While seated at dinner, 
a boy came in and announced that the Treaty of 
Peace between Russia and Japan had been signed 
at Portsmouth and that President Roosevelt had 
been instrumental in a large measure and was 
given most of the credit therefor. 

The next morning was an improvement on 
the day before. We hade made seventy miles in 
the afternoon from London and had one hundred 
thirty still before us for the day. Arriving at 
Liverpool about four o'clock, we had the rest of 
the day and evening for completing our arrange- 
ments for departure on the Cedric the next morn- 
ing. Our homeward voyage was uneventful, the 
weather was generally cold and the sea somewhat 
rougher than our eastward trip, but on the whole 
an average one for this season of the year. Our 
arrival at the dock was early enough to permit of 
our coming home, but the shopping had to be 
done, so another day was spent in New York and 
the ladies declared that it was the best day's shop- 
ping since leaving home. 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 87 

From New York to Pittsburgh is only a night 
so our story is ended. To those who have been 
patient enough to follow this little tale to the end, 
I wish to apologize for having taken them over 
so much ground and told them so little, but you 
know every party on going to Europe, makes a 
solemn compact one with the other that no tales 
will be told on returning home, hence the reason 
I have said nothing. 

D. P. Black. 



KATHARINE ON A JOY RIDE. 



88 Little Journeys of Katharine. 



A JOY RIDE. 

PREFACE:— No,— not that but an APOL- 
OGY. If more authors would apologize for the 
stories they write, we would feel less bitter toward 
them and still less, if they would leave untold the 
tales altogether. This little narrative was written 
at the combined requests of the "Stout Lady", the 
"Kid" and the "Otherone", and on the imperative 
command of the "Boss", all of which must be 
obeyed. 

The Author. 




CHAPTER III. 

T was a beautiful Saturday morning in 
mid-August 1910 that the "Bunch" 
started from Ebonhurst, corner of Penn 

and Murtland Aves., Pittsburgh, for a "joy ride" 

over the Alleghany Mountains. 

The "Bunch" consisted of: The "Boss". 
First, I will have to describe the "Boss", for is she 
not the Boss and must be obeyed? Well, as I was 
about to say, the "Boss" is a lady of mature age, 
(but not old), fully developed both mentally and 
physically; her exact weight unknown to anyone 
save herself, as she always weighs herself in the 
privacy of the bathroom after securely bolting 
both doors and pulling down the blinds. It is 
safe to say, however, that she assisted materially 
in holding the automobile close down to the 
ground. 

Then there was the "Stout Lady", built 
along the same lines as the "Boss" only more so, 



90 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

her weight also being an unknown quantity, but 
it is safe to say you could double the amount you 
would guess if guessed in her presence. The 
^'Stout Lady'" like the "Boss", was a very impor- 
tant person as ballast was necessary to keep the 
machine from turning somersaults over the thou- 
sand and one "Thank you ma'ams". Besides 
that, she was the life of the party and kept all in 
good humor. 

There was also the "Kid". The "Kid" was 
not built along the same lines by any means. 
Where the "Boss" and the "Stout Lady" were tall 
across, the "Kid" was tall up and down and so 
thin that she had to stand twice to cast a shadow; 
but without the "Kid" we might as well have 
stayed at home, for she was always in a good 
humor and even when all were thrown into the 
air going over a "Thank you ma'am", and the 
"Stout Lady" failed to light on the spot she left 
but square in the lap of the Kid," the latter fair- 
ly howled — sometimes with joy, sometimes with 
pain — but always laughing. 




THE CONDUCTOR AND HENRY 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 91 

All personally conducted trips must have a 
conductor, whose duty it is to entertain the party, 
act as pathfinder and explain everything along 
the road. (It makes no difference whether he 
knows what he is talking about or not so long as 
he doesn't let the rest know it.) I hardly know how 
to describe this conductor. He was far from 
slim, yet not so fat, and not so young as he used 
to be, but not yet old. When standing straight, 
he was absolutely unable to see his feet, although 
he wore full Number Nines. It was the con- 
ductor's duty to pay all tolls and bills — I put tolls 
first because of their greater importance. Some 
of the roads had toll gates every mile and on both 
sides of the road. 

Last, but not least, we had a Chauffeur, as 
good and faithful a son of Ethiopia as ever 
"shofed" a car, and his name was Henry. Henry 
was built something after the lines of the French 
Percheron horses — close to the ground ; this being 
the case, he never "got up in the air". 



92 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

Well, with Henry at the wheel, with three 
suitcases and two bags and the rest of us packed 
in like sardines, the signal was given at 8:30 A. 
M. sharp and we were off. 

Anyone accustomed to touring well knows 
the only place you get lost is getting out of the 
towns and cities. Well, we did succeed in get- 
ting out of our own city without experiencing 
this difficulty, although most people would have 
thought we were getting far from the straight 
and narrow path toward Bedford, as our course 
lay out Penn Avenue, to Braddock Avenue, 
through Swissvale and Rankin, over the bridge 
to Homestead, turning southeast up the river 
past Kennywood Park, through Duquesne, over 
the bridge into McKeesport, after crossing both • 
railroads turning sharp to the left about one-half 
mile, again turning sharp up the hill to the right 
at Flatiron Building, into White Oak level ma- 
cadam road to Greensburg pike just west of Ir- 
win, turning east on pike through Irwin to 
Adamstown, turning right down clay road one 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 93 

mile to macadam road into Greensburg, passing 
through town two squares past courthouse, turn- 
ing left under P. R. R., taking first right hand 
road past fairgrounds, through New Alexander to 
Blairsville, up pike over Pack Saddle Mountain, 
through Armaugh, turning right at unpainted 
church, along clay road, down steep hill to ma- 
cadam road with toll, along Conemaugh River 
into Johnstown, in center of town turning left 
two squares to Bedford Avenue, turning right up 
the hill, then leaving pike, turning right through 
Scalp Level and Windber some distance, brick 
and macadam, along top of mountain, down east 
side of mountain with beautiful view into fine 
valley, to Bedford. 

Now, gentle reader, do not get discouraged. 
I am not going to describe the road further. I 
am only anxious to get you out of town and on 
your way thus far so you will not come back, as 
you are sure by this time that you can find a bet- 
ter way home. 



94 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

We arrived at Bedford Springs about 4 P. 
M. and found many friends already there. Bed- 
ford Springs Hotel is a fine looking old brick 
and frame building among the trees, giving you 
at once the impression that within its walls you 
will find good old fashioned hospitality at 
modern not moderate prices. This is such a 
restful place after a hard day's mountain ride 
that we were loath to leave it in the morning, so 
nine, ten, eleven o'clock went by and we were not 
yet started. Henry had fed our iron steed with 
ten gallons of gasoline and it was long since pant- 
ing at the door, champing the bit, as it were, to 
climb the three mountains between there and Mc- 
Connellsburg, the county seat of Fulton County. 

Our path lay for several miles along the 
banks of the Blue Juniata and then suddenly up 
over one, two, three mountains and then to the 
east, and far below, spread like a map before us, 
lay a beautiful valley with McConnellsburg in 
the midst. There at the Fulton House we got a 
good well-served luncheon. Again we are off, 











KAIHAKINK A^ AN ORANGK (iK<)\\ lAi. 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 95 

but we are not yet quite rid of the mountains, as 
right in our path is a very formidable one. But 
mountains have no terrors for the brave little 
Columbia as she throws wide open her nostrils 
and bounds from breaker to breaker, and we are 
soon at the top and look over into Franklin 
County with its beautiful farms, large brick 
houses, telling us at once that this is the beginning 
of the land of the Pennsylvania Dutchman. And 
surely he knows how to farm and how to live. 

We had intended to stop over night at 
Chambersburg, the county seat of Franklin 
County, but it was yet only the middle of the 
afternoon and we felt we must press on to Gettys- 
burg, with much less resistance than did Gen. 
Robert E. Lee in sixty-three. 

On approaching from the west, the battle- 
field is reached before the town, so we drove up 
and down several of the avenues lined with mon- 
uments and teeming with historical interest, 
which, however, we were not familiar enough 
with to appreciate fully. We therefore drove to 



96 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

town, left our baggage at the hotel, secured a 
guide and again drove over the great decisive 
battlefield of the Civil War. This alone was 
sufficient compensation for crossing the Alle- 
ghany Mountains. 

After a more or less uncomfortable night at 
a very inferior hotel, we started about nine o'clock 
for Philadelphia via York, Columbia, Cotesville 
and Downington, arriving at the Bellevue-Strat- 
ford, Philadelphia, at about 3 :oo P. M., with 
Pittsburgh air in all four of our tires, no mis- 
haps or accidents of any kind and having to our 
credit one of the most pleasant trips of our lives. 

A very amusing incident occurred at this 
point. On the evening before at the hotel at 
Gettysburg, a lady who was with her husband (or 
rather he was with her) , discovered that a 5 
o'clock breakfast was served for those wishing to 
leave on an early train. She conceived the idea 
that if they would take their breakfast at that 
hour, they would be sure of getting into Philadel- 
phia the next day. The husband objected to get- 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 97 

ting up so early and, in order to dissuade his wife, 
told her that an extra charge was made for the 
early breakfast. The wife was about ready to 
acquiesce, but thought she would inquire if this 
was true before giving up. Upon being assured 
that no extra charge was made, she informed 
hubby that they would take the early breakfast 
and get an early start. This they did at 5:30, as 
we could see from our windows, which they were 
just beneath. Did you ever notice how much noise 
a "one lunger" can make under your window at 
5 A. M.? If you have, you will know that we 
got no further sleep until they were gone. We 
took the regular breakfast, and, as I have stated, 
started about 9 o'clock, arriving at Philadelphia 
about 3 P. M. Some five hours after, or about 
8 P. M., our friends of the early breakfast came 
strolling into the hotel, the wife with a look on 
her face which plainly spoke "I told you so". 

I wish to say it had been the "Stout Lady's" 
intention to accompany us only as far as Bedford 
and from there return to Pittsburgh, but the 



98 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

mountain air and the exhilarating sensation of the 
Joy Ride were so enjoyable that she concluded to 
go as far as Gettysburg, but when that point was 
reached, the place for returning was shoved on to 
York and again to Philadelphia. As it was our 
intention to spend a few weeks at the seashore, we 
put the machine up in storage, allowing Henry 
to have his vacation by going to Baltimore to see 
his friends. Slowly and sadly the "Stout Lady" 
wended her way to the Pennsylvania Station to 
take her train back home and the Boss, the Kid 
and the Conductor hied themselves off to Beach 
Haven to spend a week or two basking in the sun 
and bathing in old ocean. But somehow it seemed 
tame and lacked animation and they longed for 
the road. 

The return of the Stout Lady left one seat 
unoccupied in the machine, which would not do. 
Now, the Boss, in addition to being Boss, is al- 
ways looking out to give others pleasure, so a 
young lady who was visiting her sister in East 
Orange was suggested and was unanimously 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 99 

elected a member of the party on the spot. A 
letter was sent off post haste and brought an an- 
swer by wire, not one telegram but two, presum- 
ably fearing its miscarriage and that would have 
been awful. This young lady made the second 
kid and will be designated, like Pecksniff's 
daughter, the "otherone." 

Thursday morning came and so did the 
"Otherone", but lo and behold, there was no 
Henry, and as he was all important in this trip, 
feelings of deepest despair were beginning to fill 
the hearts of some of the party, but the Conduc- 
tor said he knew Henry would not be one minute 
too early, neither would he be a minute too late. 
As the time for starting had been fixed at 8:30 
and 8:25 passed with no word of his arrival in 
Philadelphia, even having been received, the sus- 
pense became painful, but like Jules Verne's 
Phineas Fogg, he was at 8:29 announced by the 
uniformed porter, who approached the Conduc- 
tor with the correct salute and said: "Your car 
is at the door, sir." Immediately, all faces 



loo Little Journeys of Katharine. 

brightened, our luggage was hustled into the ma- 
chine, bills paid, goodbyes said and we were off. 
Our faces were turned toward Bethlehem 
but, unlike the Wise Men of the East, we had no 
star to guide us as it was broad daylight, and we 
immediately proceeded to get lost as usual in get- 
ting out of town. This was occasioned, however, 
by some of the streets we were to take being torn 
up for repairs and in taking side roads, we did 
not always get back to the proper place. Only a 
few minutes, however, and we were on the Bethle- 
hem Pike, with our hands in our pockets paying 
toll like veterans. In all seriousness, we think it 
high time that some of the rich counties in east- 
ern Pennsylvania put their hands in their pockets 
and build a few fine macadam roads free of tolls 
as we have in Allegheny County. 

The day was fine, the road fair and on we 
sped through Montgomery, Bucks and Lehigh 
counties, arriving at South Bethlehem where Le- 
high College is located. This college was richly 
endowed by the late Asa Packer. Thence we 




THE BRIDAL VEIL, WATKINS GLEN 



Little Journeys of Katharine. ioi 

crossed the Lehigh River into Bethlehem, both 
thriving business looking towns. It was not yet 
time for lunch, so we inquired the way out of town 
to get to Easton. As heretofore, several persons 
told us of as many different roads as there were 
inquiries. One more intelligent man than the rest 
said: ''As you appear to have a good machine and 
distance does not make much difference, I would 
advise going through Nazareth and get a ma- 
cadam road all the way and only about ten miles 
farther. As we had never been to Nazareth and 
never expected to get there again, we took his ad- 
vice and found as he said fine roads, but one place 
for about three miles, they were putting on fresh 
oil. 

At Easton we stopped for lunch. Upon in- 
quiry we were told that the best house was the 
Karldon. Recollections of the Carlton in Lon- 
don and its fine grill room steaks came to our 
minds, so decided on it at once and made no mis- 
take. Quite a large parade was being held at this 
place and as we could get no information who 



I02 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

they were and for what purpose they were parad- 
ing, we came to the conclusion the demonstration 
was for us. In fact, we found the word "Wel- 
come" posted up in several of the towns we passed 
through and thought it real nice in them to be so 
kind and hospitable to us strangers within their 
gates. Easton is a very fine town, the home of 
Lafayette College. 

After lunch we pushed on to Delaware Water 
Gap and felt well repaid for our journey thus far. 
Certainly it is a beautiful spot, with the fine hotels 
placed far up on the mountainside. The new ce- 
ment bridge being constructed over the Delaware 
River at this point is beautiful to behold. The 
Delaware River at this point breaks through the 
mountain, producing a bit of beautiful scenery 
never to be forgotten. 

Having passed through Northampton County 
and arrived at Stroudsburg, the county seat of 
Monroe Co., we had passed through the best 
farming part of our trip since leaving Philadel- 



H^HlTa 








■ 


^Kt^^'-^^^ 


^tt 






H 




te^ 






1 






j^ 




\7^^^ 



DELAWARE WATER GAP 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 103 

phia, but while it is fine, it does not quite equal 
the farms of Lancaster County and the Cumber- 
land Valley. Our road now passes up over Mt. 
Pocono and is fifty-two miles to Scranton, mostly 
mountain road. But the Columbia is fond of 
mountain climbing and after getting a good drink 
of gasoline, we are ofif again, arriving in Scranton 
before dark, having traveled one hundred seventy- 
six miles since morning. 

Scranton reminds one of a little Pittsburgh, 
nestled in among the hills with blazing furnaces, 
tall smoke stacks, and none too clean, the hotel 
especially. We did not stay long here but took a 
little walk after dinner. Found quite a nice little 
square with several pretentious monuments, but 
the light was not very good and we were unable 
to read the inscriptions so we concluded they were 
Old Lackawanna and Mr. and Mrs. Scranton and 
let it go at that. This day's trip was rather a long 
one and the last fifty miles over none too good 
roads, yet the Boss, the Kid and the Otherone all 
said they enjoyed it immensely. It is safe to say 



I04 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

they were tired, however, as they all refused to go 
even to a nickelodeon, and for the Kid, especially, 
this was quite a sacrifice. 

It rained most of the night and was still rain- 
ing in the morning. This was not very encourag- 
ing, as we had a hard mountain road of sixty-two 
miles ahead of us before reaching Binghamton, 
N. Y. We immediately proceeded to gtt lost in 
getting out of town, but as we went only a mile 
or so, thought nothing of it and were soon on a 
good macadam road. This road we were not long 
to follow, but you know how hard it is to leave a 
fine macadam road for a poor one, so we kept 
speeding along until we came to some stone masons 
who told us we had passed our turning place about 
five miles back, but that we need not go back as 
we could follow on, bearing to the right and again 
strike the proper road. This we did and were 
well paid for it, as we wound our way up a 
crooked creek with an old mill and mill dam 
which reminded us of our earlier days at Bell's 
Dam on old Chartiers Creek, where sunfish three 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 105 

inches long looked like sharks and suckers like 
whales. But with the Columbia climbing, climb- 
ing all the time, we were soon to leave this beauti- 
ful creek and gain the high road to Binghamton, 
and right sorry we soon had reason to be, as this 
road was the worst we had encountered since 
leaving home. The water breakers were high 
and steep, while the road was so narrow that we 
had to take them straight. 

Here we met our first mishap by pulling our 
grease pan off, but as this did not reflect on either 
the machine or the driver, the Conductor and 
Henry took off their coats and went to work, or at 
least Henry did. The machine was run with the 
wheels on two large stones, (they were ever pres- 
ent) forming a natural pit so that the men, espe- 
cially Henry, could get under. In less than 
twenty minutes, the pan was securely bolted on and 
we were good as new. On we sped over roads, 
sometimes up, sometimes down, but always steep 
and rough. However, all things must come to 
an end, even bad roads, although it takes longer. 



io6 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

At last we struck the winding course of the Sus- 
quehanna and followed it over fine roads about 
ten miles into Binghamton, having covered 
about seventy miles, not as the crow flies, but as 
we run. We were all hungry and making inquiry 
for the best hotel, were told that either the Arling- 
ton or Bennett would supply our wants to our full 
satisfaction. As the Bennett appeared to be di- 
rectly in our course, we selected it and had a fine 
lunch. 

From here everything seemed to change. No 
matter in what direction v/e wanted to go, on in- 
quiry we were told the roads were fine and so we 
found them. As our next town was Owego, 
twenty- two miles away, we headed that way and 
by some mistake we failed to get lost in getting 
out of the beautiful little city of Binghamton, 
which, by the way, they call the "Parlor City" on 
account of its trim and natty appearance. On we 
flew over roads as good as our own Three Degree 
Road or any others of the four hundred miles now 
completed in Allegheny County. Owego fairly 




IN \V ATKINS GLEN 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 107 

seemed to come toward us. We were told here 
that several roads lead to Watkins Glen but were 
advised to cross over the Susquehanna River and 
keep down the south side. This we did and found 
the road posted for Watkins Glen. But we found 
in "these parts" that they post every road whether 
it is the shortest or longest to the objective point. 
Down the river we flew between river and moun- 
tain, bearing all the while to the South, which the 
Conductor felt we should not do, but as there were 
no bridges and the river could not be forded, we 
were obliged to continue on the road selected. The 
road was good and the scenery fine so it mattered 
little where we were going and the Conductor re- 
marked ''whether we were right or wrong, we 
were going somewhere like the dickens". 

We soon found ourselves back in Pennsyl- 
vania opposite the town of Sayres, twenty-four 
miles from Owego. As there was a bridge here, 
we crossed and found that to get to Watkins Glen, 
we would go by Waverly and Elmira, twenty-five 
miles away. Leaving the Susquehanna, we fol- 



io8 Little Journeys OF Katharine. 

low up the Chemunk over more good roads, ex- 
cept one place where they were building some 
new macadam, and we were soon at Elmira, at 
sundown, with Watkins Glen (like Sheridan) 
''still eighteen miles away". We were advised to 
stop for the night here as a new road was being 
built and the autos were thrown to the east side of 
the lake instead of the west. We, however, did 
not feel satisfied to stop so near our destination, so 
started, feeling we could make it by dark, but at 
a point about about nine miles from either town, 
one of our rear tires began to let down. Not a 
puncture, just a slow leak, but it had to be fixed 
and as it was getting dark, a new inner tube was 
put in. We were all ready to start when we found 
it also leaked, so a second one had to be substi- 
tuted. 

The girls in the meantime had concluded to 
walk ahead a short distance until we would over- 
take them, but as more time was consumed than 
usual putting in the tire, they concluded that the 
Conductor and Henry had picked up the wrong 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 109 

girls. In fact, they did mistake three ladies in 
the dark and chased after them, blowing the 
horn to attract their attention, when lo and behold, 
the Boss, the Kid and the Otherone hove in sight 
in the darkness and what a time the boys had try- 
ing to convince the girls that a mistake had been 
made. In time comparative peace reigned and 
the girls themselves admitted that they, too, had 
hailed another machine, thinking of course that 
it was the boys. (Maybe.) 

Well, the darkness seemed to increase and the 
road grew narrower and we had to look out for 
the forks so that we might not get into the new 
road making. At last we saw a forks of the road 
but no guide post. A house was near and the Con- 
ductor proceeded thither to make inquiry, but the 
little parlor was filled with young men and women 
singing to the accompaniment of a cabinet organ: 
''Has anybody here seen Kelly?" Now the Con- 
ductor's name was not Kelly, but he could not help 
having a fellow feeling, as he himself was about 
as hopelessly lost as ever Kelly was. Paying no 



I lo Little Journeys of Katharine. 

attention to their appeal, he felt along both sides 
of the door checks for a bell without results, so he 
began to pound vigorously on the door, being 
heard only by the big watch dog who came bound- 
ing around the corner of the house. This compli- 
cated matters a little, as any further knocking on 
the door had to be done backwards, as it required 
both eyes to watch and both feet to kick in order 
to keep the dog at bay. Each rap brought a re- 
newed onslaught from the dog but nothing from 
within, and Kelly seemed as far from being found 
as ever. But they came at last to the end of the 
song and taking advantage of the lull, the Con- 
ductor renewed his attack on the door, bringing 
a very nice young lady who was as calm and placid 
as the beautiful Lake Seneca lying at our feet. 

Being directed to take the east or right hand 
road and being assured that it was not altogether 
bad, and that the first turn should be to the right 
and the next to the left, and not up the hill but 
hugging the lake on the left, then short to the left 
into town, and that the distance was about three 



Little Journeys of Katharine. i i i 

miles, we were once more on the way. Following 
along the narrow road, which the head lights 
caused to look white and both sides black, a queer 
sensation was produced on all of the bunch. Some 
remarked how ghostly and rocklike those large 
overhanging trees looked. A turn in the road 
threw the headlights in that direction, and behold, 
they were overhanging rocks and not trees. We 
realized how beautiful this must be in daylight 
but the most of it we had to lose on account of the 
darkness. 

We were approaching the town, of Watkins 
Glen and beyond and far up the hill or young 
mountain, we could see a cluster of lights and con- 
cluded this was our destination, the Glen Springs 
Hotel, so through the town and up the hill switch- 
ing backward and forward we went till we pulled 
up at the entrance, to be met by the head colored 
porter who asked us to stop our engine, a rule en- 
forced with all machines. As we started to re- 
move our luggage, we were asked if we had en- 
gaged rooms. Upon answering in the negative, 



1 1 2 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

were told we had better go to the office before un- 
loading as the house was entirely full. At the 
front counter, the Conductor encountered both the 
manager and chief clerk and demanded three good 
rooms and bath but was told that not even the bath 
was available, as every room was taken. 

Experienced conductors are not easily dis- 
mayed, so he began to parley and found out that 
just three rooms wxre unoccupied, but they were 
already engaged and the travelers were expected 
every minute, their trunks having already arrived 
by express. The Conductor did not know, of 
course, but ventured the remark that all the trains 
were in for the night, hence the expected guests 
could not now arrive. This much of the argu- 
ment must have been correct as it w^as not denied, 
but the clerk said the party was evidently coming 
by automobile, otherwise they would not have ex- 
pressed their baggage. This the Conductor knew 
to be a good argument, as he had been doing the 
same thing, but still claimed the rooms on account 
of being first on the grounds. The manager 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 113 

showed signs of weakening, but the clerk stood 
firm, so the Conductor proposed, as they could 
not agree, that he be chosen as third party to break 
the tie, w^hich was done. He being entirely disin- 
terested, decided promptly without fear or favor 
that the absent party had no standing, and the 
baggage was ordered in. The manager remarked 
that late as it was he had business in the village 
and the clerk said if that was the case, he was go- 
ing also to escape the wrath to come and would 
shut the house as soon as we got in. It was too 
late for supper, but a cold bite was furnished and 
all were shown to nice clean rooms and good beds, 
which were enjoyed after a hard day's ride. In 
the morning, inquiry was made as to whether the 
expected guests had arrived. The clerk said a 
machine had come puffing up the hill, but by the 
time it reached the hotel, the lights were out and 
the only man visible was the night watchman, who 
informed the late travelers that the house was 
closed and they would have to go to the village 
hotel for the night. 



1 14 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

What a wonderful sight met our eyes as we 
stood on that front porch the next morning. At 
our feet was the beautiful Lake Seneca, from one 
to five miles wide, thirty-six miles long and strang- 
est of all, six hundred feet deep. Under the hill, 
the calm and restful village of Watkins lay, the 
county seat of Schuyler County, and far beyond 
the sloping hills and splendid farms of central 
New York state. After breakfast, we took a stroll 
to the Glen, only ten minutes' walk from the hotel, 
past the various springs whose waters will cure you 
of whatever ails you, through a cemetery and down 
the long winding cement stairs into the bottom of 
the Glen, three hundred feet below. Many water 
falls and rapids constantly surprise and delight the 
senses as one wanders from one beauty point to an- 
other. If all our trip had yielded us no harvest 
until now, we would have been paid abundantly 
right here. Tourists through New York state 
should never fail to visit this spot. 

It was almost noon when we returned to the 
hotel, but we were so intoxicated with the beauty 



Little Journeys of Katharine. 115 

of the place that we were not hungry, and as Hen- 
ry and the machine were both ready and waiting 
at the door, we paid our bills, loaded our baggage 
and started off, expecting to stop for lunch at 
Flanagan's Restaurant at Canandaigua. This is a 
place famous for sea foods and we later found it 
to be fully up to its reputation. The first forty or 
fifty miles of our journey were over fine clay roads 
mostly in sight of Lake Seneca, through Pen Yan, 
the county seat of Yates County. At Flint, a very 
small place, we struck the macadam road which 
we had all the way to Buffalo. "Westward Ho", 
the brave little Columbia, appearing to recognize 
her old friend, the "Macadam", sprang forward 
by leaps and bounds until the Conductor had to 
caution Henry to hold her down. Canandaigua 
and our appetites arrived at about the same time. 

There we had a good lobster dinner and af- 
ter making the usual inquiries about getting out 
of town, we again headed toward the Setting Sun, 
on through fine country and smart towns, Lima, 
Avon, Caledonia and Batavia. It was necessary 



ii6 Little Journeys OF Katharine. 

several times to cut around places where repairs 
were being made, such as top dressing to the ma- 
cadam, thus adding some ten miles to the distance, 
but even the side roads were good. As the sun 
was hanging low over Lake Erie, we glided grace- 
fully into Buffalo and pulled up at the Iroquois 
Hotel, where we put up for the night. Had trav- 
eled one hundred forty-six miles since twelve 
o'clock. 

The next morning being Sunday, we were not 
up and about so early as we did not expect to do 
as much as some on the trip homeward. About 
one hour before we were ready to start, we met a 
Pittsburgh friend who told us he was just starting 
and was going to make the trip through to Pitts- 
burgh in one day, as he had a Thomas Flyer and 
nothing could prevent his reaching home that 
night. Lunch was packed so that they would not 
be obliged to delay a moment. After bidding them 
Godspeed, we had our breakfasts and started, 
found much of the Lake Road torn up for re- 
pairs, so considerable distance was added by de- 



Little Journeys of Katharine. i 17 

tours. Some twenty miles from Buffalo, we over- 
took our friends with the Thomas ; they were hav- 
ing tire trouble. After offering assistance and be- 
ing assured that none was required, we pursued 
our way only to be overtaken by them and they ob- 
served in passing : "This is the last you will see of 
us." But such was not the case. Twenty or thirty 
miles farther and we overtook them again; more 
trouble. They still declined assistance, however, 
and we went on to Erie, where we had lunch, 
thinking of course our friends would pass us 
meanwhile. After driving through the finest resi- 
dence part of Erie, and seeing the town generally, 
we wended our way leisurely to Cambridge 
Springs which we reached about four P. M. and 
stayed until morning at the recently reconstructed 
Hotel Vanadium, which is now first-class and to 
be recommended. Sometime after our arrival at 
Cambridge Springs, our friends of the Thomas 
passed through, still headed for home and de- 
termined to reach it without stop. 

The next morning about nine A. M. we 



1 1 8 Little Journeys of Katharine. 

started on our last day's trip for home, coming 
through Saegertown and Meadville and again 
overtook our friends by the roadside, having been 
obliged to stop over night at a farm house and 
were still making repairs when we passed them. 
Through Mercer we came, stopping at Butler for 
lunch and arrived in Pittsburgh about 4:30 P. M., 
having covered 11 28 miles and with the same 
Pittsburgh air in all our tires except one and that 
was not a puncture. We had crossed the Alle- 
ghany Mountains twice and passed through the 
counties of Allegheny, Westmoreland, Indiana, 
Cambria, Somerset, Bedford, Fulton, Franklin 
Adams, York, Lancaster, Chester, Delaware, 
Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Lehigh, Nor- 
thampton, Monroe, Lackawanna, Susquehanna, 
Bradford, Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Lawrence and 
Butler in Pennsylvania, and Broome, Tioga, Che- 
mung, Schuyler, Yates, Ontario, Livingston, 
Genesee, Erie and Chautauqua in New Nork, 1^ 
in all. 

And now that we are home and look back 



Little Journeys of PCatharine. i 19 

over our trip, all declare that it was a most enjoy- 
able and successful one and say they are ready to 
repeat it at any time. 

To those who have been patient enough to 
follow this little tale to the end, we wish to say 
goodbye. 



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